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SILVER  CHIMES  IN 
SYRIA 


GLIMPSES   OF  A  MISSIONARY'S 
EXPE1UENCES 


BY 

W.  S.  NELSON,  D.D., 

AUTHOR  OF  "HABEEB  THE  BELOVED' 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE   WESTMINSTER   PRESS 
rgi  5 


COPYRIGHT,     1914 
BY    F.     M.     BRASELMANN 


DEDICATION 

July  17,  1888.  Cincinnati,  Onio. 
This  book  is  affectionately  inscribed  to  her  who  has  been  the  com- 
panion of  my  life  for  twenty-five  years;  my  helper  in  all 
my  work;  my  cheer  and  comfort  in  all  circumstances;  the 
maker  of  my  home;  the  source  of  all  that  is  silvery  in  the 
chimes  that  ring  to-day. 

Homs,  Syria,  July  17,  1913. 


PREFACE 

WHEN  a  tourist  is  seated  on  the  deck 
of  a  steamer,  waiting  to  leave  the 
country  in  which  he  has  enjoyed  an  outing, 
his  eyes  do  not  seek  the  low-lying  shore  of  the 
sea,  for  the  memories  he  would  retain  here- 
after. He  lifts  his  eyes  to  the  overhanging 
mountains.  Nor  is  it  the  whole  massive  range 
that  holds  his  vision.  He  looks  instinctively 
to  the  scattered,  lofty  summits  which  stand 
aloof  as  it  were  from  the  monotony  of  the 
lower  range.  Especially  as  the  sun  sinks 
below  the  western  horizon  do  his  eyes  dwell 
lovingly  on  those  highest  peaks  which  are 
colored  with  the  light  of  the  setting  sun. 

My  purpose  in  sending  out  this  collection 
of  sketches  is  somewhat  the  same.  I  have 
not  attempted  a  continuous  narrative,  with 
all  the  monotony  of  repeated  acts,  but  have 
sought  to  make  vivid  to  the  reader  some  of 
the  more  conspicuous  features  of  missionary 


viii  PREFACE 

life,  in  the  hope  of  deepening  sympathy  with 
the  workers  and  increasing  zeal  in  the  work. 
That  is  my  excuse  for  the  free  use  of  the  per- 
sonal pronoun,  not  to  make  prominent  the 
person,  but  to  emphasize  the  reality.  May 
the  volume  be  enjoyed  by  our  fellow  workers 
in  America,  and  blessed  by  Him  whom  we  all 
serve. 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

I.     Arrival  in  Syria 3 

II.     Language  Study 14 

ITT.  Travel  and  Communication      ...  19 

IV.    Evangelistic  Trips 34 

V.     Aleppo 53 

VI.  New  Stations  and  Buildings  ...  65 

VII.    Camping  Life 75 

VIII.     Persecution 87 

IX.    Emigration 94 

X.    Syrian  Enterprises 104 

XL     Interruptions Ill 

XII.    Our  Supporters 127 

XILL    Personal  Friends 130 

XIV.    Tripoli  Boys'  School 150 

XV.    Moving 104 

XVI.  The  Muezzin  or  the  Bell  ....  109 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 
Henry    A.    Nelson    Memorial  —   Tripoli    Boys1 

School Frontispiece 

Latakda  Boys'  School     ....       Facing  Page  34 

Tartoose — Crusaders'  Church 31 

Aleppo  Minaret 53 

Hadeth  Summer  Home 75 

Abu  Maroon,  the  Hadeth  Carpenter     ....  75 

Horns  —  Boys'  School 104 

Tripoli  Boys'  School  —  First  Home      ....  150 

Tripoli  Boys'  School  —  Second  Home  ....  150 

Horns 164 

Heathen  Temple  and  Mount  Hermon        .      .      .  104 

Hamidiyeh  Mosque — Tripoli 109 

Old  City  Gate—  Tripoli 109 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 


Chapter  I 

ARRIVAL  IN  SYRIA 

EVERY  individual  makes  a  new  per- 
sonal discovery,  as  with  the  passage 
of  years,  he  realizes  the  difference  be- 
tween the  long  look  forward  over  a  given 
period,  and  the  look  backward  over  the 
same  period,  when  it  is  completed.  To  the 
new  arrival  on  the  field  the  veteran  of 
twenty-five  years'  experience  appears  to 
have  spent  a  very  long  time  in  the  service; 
but  as  he  looks  back  over  his  own  life,  at 
the  end  of  a  similar  period,  he  wonders  that 
he  ever  entertained  such  an  opinion.  Look- 
ing back  to  the  year  1888,  the  events  of 
that  time  do  not  seem  at  all  remote,  and  it 

[3] 


SILVER   CHIMES  IN   SYRIA 

is  hard  to  realize  that  to  anyone  that  year 
can  appear  a  very  long  way  in  the  past. 

On  the  last  day  of  October,  in  the  early 
morning,  a  steamer  of  the  Austrian-Lloyd 
Line  cast  anchor  in  front  of  Beirut.  That 
was  long  before  the  building  of  the  harbor, 
and  all  vessels  tossed  in  the  open  roadstead, 
at  the  mercy  of  wind  and  wave,  only 
slightly  sheltered  by  the  long  headland 
of  Ras  Beirut,  where  the  tall  lighthouse 
rears  its  slender  shaft,  and  where  the 
Syrian  Protestant  College  stands,  as  a  more 
important  symbol  of  light-giving. 

The  anchor  was  scarcely  dropped  before 
the  little  boats  from  the  shore  crowded 
about  the  ladders  and  the  boatmen  came 
swarming  over  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  to 
take  possession  of  the  passengers  and  carry 
them  ashore.  It  is  always  a  perplexing  but 
interesting  scene  to  the  newcomer.  The 
curious  costumes  of  many  colors  give  an 
appearance  of  gayety  to  the  crowd;  the 
shouting  of  the  guttural  Arabic  makes  one 
think  of  Babel;    the   wild  gesticulating  of 

[4] 


ARRIVAL  IN  SYRL\ 


the  excited  people  suggests  the  possibility  of 
a  riot;  the  seizing  of  baggage  and  pulling 
of  passengers  by  eager  boatmen  make  one 
think  that  the  day  of  personal  liberty  and 
private  property  is  passed.  As  a  rule,  how- 
ever, it  is  all  good-natured,  and  the  noise  is 
more  bantering  than  quarreling.  In  fact, 
one  soon  becomes  accustomed  to  the  tur- 
moil as  an  indication  of  lack  of  orderly  pro- 
ceeding in  the  Orient. 

Among  the  first  figures  to  appear  on  deck 
that  October  morning  was  one  quieter  but 
no  less  eager  than  the  Arab  boatmen.  He 
quickly  made  his  way  to  the  room  of  the 
new  missionaries,  just  arriving  from  Amer- 
ica, prepared  to  take  them  ashore,  and  even 
to  escort  them  at  once  to  his  own  home  in 
Sidon.  It  was  a  most  welcome,  homelike 
experience  to  the  tired  travelers,  and  the 
cheery  voice  and  cordial  welcome  of  Mr. 
W.  K.  Eddy  will  never  be  forgotten. 

There  were  many  things  in  the  journey, 
thus  ended,  that  had  made  it  trying.  The 
young    couple    had    crossed    the    Atlantic 

[5] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IX  SYRIA 

entirely  among  strangers  and  the  ocean  had 
not  been  kind  to  them.  Seasickness  is 
never  a  happy  experience,  and  when  it  be- 
comes a  continuous  performance,  in  con- 
nection with  a  wedding  journey,  it  seems 
most  inappropriate.  Pleasant  visits  with 
family  friends  and  relatives  in  Scotland 
effaced  the  memories  of  the  Atlantic. 
Visiting  new  scenes  and  beautiful  places 
in  Switzerland  gave  much  pleasure  by  the 
way,  but  in  an  unfortunate  day  the  germs 
of  malaria  had  been  absorbed  and  southern 
Italy  was  reached  with  fever  and  weakness 
that  made  sightseeing  a  burden. 

Who  can  forget  his  first  glimpse  of  the 
real  Orient,  at  Port  Said?  The  noise  and 
the  dirt;  the  squalor  and  the  glaring  sun; 
the  rush  of  the  crowd  and  the  utter  lone- 
someness  of  the  stranger,  make  a  contrast 
and  mixture  that  are  not  easily  matched  in 
life's  ordinary  experiences.  Four  days  were 
to  pass  before  a  steamer  went  to  Beirut. 
It  was  not  a  pleasant  prospect  for  travelers 
homesick  and  weak  from  fever  to  have  to 

[6] 


ARRIVAL   IX   SYRIA 


tarry  for  four  days  in  a  dismal  hotel,  with 
nothing  attractive  in  the  way  of  com- 
panionship or  occupation.  Besides  this, 
our  trunks  had  not  been  sent  forward  as 
promised,  and  we  were  obliged  to  depend 
upon  the  limited  hand  baggage  with  which 
we  had  crossed  the  Continent.  It  is  easy 
to  imagine  the  sensations  with  which  the 
young  bride  looked  forward  to  making  her 
first  appearance  among  strangers,  with  a 
face  pale  from  fever  and  an  outfit  so  unex- 
pectedly limited. 

The  hearty  welcome  of  Mr.  Eddy  on  the 
deck  of  that  Austrian  steamer  in  Beirut 
harbor  was  a  needed  tonic,  and  his  skill  and 
experience  readily  passed  us  through  the 
intricacies  of  the  customhouse  and  brought 
us  to  the  hospitable  home  of  his  father.  Of 
the  friends  who  conspired  to  make  those 
first  days  bright,  many  have  been  called 
away  to  the  other  shore,  though  others  are 
still  our  associates  in  the  service  of  Syria. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  W.  W.  Eddy,  with  whom  we 
spent   our   first  ten   days   in   Syria,   left  us 

[71 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

many  years  ago.  Dr.  Samuel  Jessup  was 
always  thoughtful,  bringing  bright  flowers 
from  his  garden  to  continue  the  impression 
of  his  bright  face  and  cheery  words,  when 
he  called  upon  the  strangers.  He  and  Mrs. 
Jessup,  whose  home  was  one  of  the  bright- 
est spots  of  those  early  years,  have  also 
gone  on  before  to  their  well-earned  reward. 
Mr.  March,  coming  down  from  the  moun- 
tains on  his  way  to  Tripoli,  was  especially 
ready  in  his  plans  for  the  comfort  of  his 
new  associates  in  Tripoli  Station.  But  it  is 
not  necessary  to  mention  each  one.  The 
beauty  of  missionary  life  is  the  unity  of 
fellowship  and  the  completeness  with  which 
every  newcomer  is  received  into  the  inti- 
macy and  love  of  the  circle,  which  is  only 
less  close  and  intimate  than  that  of  the 
family  itself. 

After  ten  days  spent  in  Beirut  in  trying  to 
get  rid  of  the  malaria  and  in  acquiring  some 
knowledge  of  the  Arabic  alphabet,  we  went 
on  to  Tripoli,  our  future  home.  It  was  a 
cold,  windy  Saturday  afternoon.     We  were 

[8] 


ARRIVAL  IN  SYRIA 


taken  out  to  the  steamer  in  a  small  boat, 

which  tossed  on  the  restless  waves  in  a  way 

which    we    supposed    to    be    normal.     The 

steamer    was    small    and    crowded    with    a 

miscellaneous  company,  most  of  whom  were 

not  happy,  to  say  the  least.     Fortunately 

it  is  only  a  four  hours'  ride,  for  the  wind 

increased  in  violence  as  we  proceeded,  and 

when  the  anchor  was  dropped  at  sundown 

off  Tripoli,  it  seemed  doubtful  whether  any 

boats  could  come  out  to  meet  us.     In  due 

time,  however,  a  boat  pulled  alongside,  and 

there   was   Mr.    March,  who  had  come  out 

over  that  rough  sea    to  welcome  us  to  our 

new   home,    though    he   did   not    think   we 

would  venture  to  start  from  Beirut  in  such 

a     storm.     The     steamer     was     rolling    so 

badly  that  the  ladder  could  not  be  lowered 

at  all,   and   we  crept   out  on   it   as   it   lay 

horizontally  along  the  ship's  side,  and  then, 

when   the  tip   was  lowest,   simply   dropped 

into  the  arms  of  the  boatmen  below.     Then 

began  the  laborious  pull  for  the  shore.     We 

were  two  hours  reaching  land,  our  clothes 

[9] 


SILVER   CHIMES  IN   SYRIA 

soaked,  our  spirits  at  zero,  but  most  happy 
to  reach  the  warm,  cozy  haven  of  the 
March  home  in  the  Mina  of  Tripoli.  It 
was  the  beginning  of  a  most  beautiful 
fellowship  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  March  and 
their  children,  whose  sweet  introduction  of 
themselves  won  our  hearts  at  once  and 
who,  though  now  grown  to  maturity,  still 
call  us  by  the  old,  affectionate  titles  of 
uncle  and  aunt.  Thus,  for  the  second  time 
in  our  short  missionary  experience,  we  were 
made  to  feel  the  comfort  and  peace  of  being 
taken  into  the  warmth  and  love  of  a  Chris- 
tian home,  no  longer  as  strangers,  but  as 
brethren. 

We  wished  to  take  possession  of  our  own 
home  as  soon  as  possible.  Our  household 
goods  were  in  the  customhouse,  and  an- 
other first  experience  was  before  us.  Every- 
thing had  to  be  examined  and  its  purpose 
explained  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Turkish 
inspector.  To  him  it  seemed  a  wholly 
unnecessary   amount   of   furniture   for   one 

person,  for  of  course  he  could  not  recognize 

[10] 


ARRIVAL  IN  SYRIA 


that  the  wife's  existence  made  any  differ- 
ence. A  box  of  class  photographs  was 
examined  in  detail,  and  great  surprise  mani- 
fested that  one  person  should  have  so  many 
friends.  A  small  vase  for  flowers  in  the 
shape  of  a  kettle  resting  on  five  legs  puz- 
zled the  examiner,  until  he  picked  up  the 
perforated  piece  of  a  soap  dish,  and  decided 
that  he  had  found  the  appropriate  adapta- 
tion of  the  two  pieces.  It  did  not  seem 
necessary  to  explain,  so  long  as  he  was 
satisfied,  and  no  harm  was  done. 

We  had  many  things  to  learn  besides  the 
language.  Our  home  belonged  to  a  man 
whose  name  was  translated  to  us  as  Mr. 
Victory-of-God  Brass.  In  an  arch  under 
the  parlor  windows  he  had  hung  a  donkey's 
skull  and  some  beads,  to  keep  off  the  evil 
eye  of  jealousy  from  his  fine  house.  It  was 
a  pleasant  house,  well  located  near  the  city 
gate  which  had  been  known  in  former  days 
as  Donkey  Gate,  only  a  few  minutes'  walk 
from  the  girls'  school  and  just  at  the  end  of 

the  tram  line  connecting  the  city  with  the 

I  HI 


SILVER   CHIMES  IN   SYRIA 

harbor,  two  miles  distant.  In  planning  for 
our  new  home  we  had  indulged  in  the 
luxury  of  two  pairs  of  simple  lace  curtains 
for  our  parlor  windows.  When  we  entered 
the  house,  our  amazement  can  hardly  be 
exaggerated  at  the  discovery  that  the  parlor 
had  not  two  but  eight  windows,  each  calling 
for  curtains  twelve  feet  long.  Our  lace 
curtains  were  relegated  to  service  elsewhere. 
Mr.  Eddy  had  kindly  arranged  to  come  up 
from  Sidon  to  help  us  in  this  first  settling 
of  our  new  home,  and  his  help  and  com- 
panionship were  invaluable.  He  went  with 
me  to  the  shops  to  purchase  such  things  as 
were  needed,  and  the  shopkeepers  recog- 
nized at  once  his  fluent  Arabic  and  his  com- 
panion's ignorance  of  the  language.  More 
than  one  shopkeeper  called  him  aside  and 
asked  him  to  bring  the  stranger  to  them  for 
his  purchases,  promising  him  a  handsome 
commission  for  his  services. 

The  house  was  soon  made  habitable  and 
just  three  weeks  after  our  first  landing  in 

Syria  we  slept  under  our  own  roof,  with  our 

I  i*l 


ARRIVAL  IN  SYRIA 


own  possessions  about  us,  and  were  ready 
to  begin  our  own  independent  home  life  in 
the  land  of  our  adoption.  We  had  made 
our  beginning,  and  a  bright,  happy  beginning 
it  was,  notwithstanding  the  difficulties  and 
drawbacks  inevitable  in  such  conditions. 


[is] 


Chapter  II 

LANGUAGE   STUDY 

WHATEVER  differences  there  may 
be  in  experiences  in  missionary 
life,  all  missionaries  are  faced  with  a  most 
troublesome  experience  in  learning  a  new 
language.  It  is  more  or  less  natural  for 
everyone  to  magnify  what  concerns  him- 
self. "Our  children"  are  always  a  little 
better  than  our  neighbors'.  "Our  cook" 
makes  better  bread  than  anyone  else.  And 
"mother's  pies"  —  well,  that  calls  for  no 
argument.  It  is  much  the  same  way 
among  missionaries.  It  is  probable  that 
there  are  just  about  as  many  "hardest 
languages  "in  the  world  as  there  are  distinct 
mission  fields.  But,  then,  there  must  be 
one  that  is  really  the  hardest,  and  we  in 
Syria  think  we  come  pretty  well  up  on  the 

list,  even  though  we  do  not  claim  absolute 

[14] 


LANGUAGE  STUDY 


preeminence.  The  Arabic,  though  rich  and 
beautiful,  is  certainly  a  difficult  language, 
and  I  am  sure  the  Syria  Mission  would  give 
a  unanimous  vote  on  the  resolution  that  it 
is  the  toughest  linguistic  proposition  we 
have  ever  attacked.  It  was  one  of  the 
terse  and  suggestive  remarks  of  Dr.  Henry 
Jessup  that  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  the 
new  missionary  thought  he  knew  the 
Arabic;  at  the  end  of  the  second  year  he 
thought  he  knew  nothing;  and  at  the  end 
of  the  third  year  he  wondered  how  he  got 
hold  of  it. 

The  isolation  of  a  new  missionary  is  at 
times  appalling.  No  matter  how  kind  and 
helpful  the  older  missionaries  may  be,  they 
are  strangers,  after  all,  with  whom  one 
must  get  acquainted.  The  houses  are 
strange,  and  not  adapted  to  make  one  feel 
at  home  readily.  Servants  with  their  very 
imperfect  knowledge  of  English  must  be 
directed  mainly  by  signs.  Everything 
seems  unbearably  dirty;  the  sun  is  unac- 
countably hot,  even  in  winter;    the  food  is 

[  15  I 


SILVER  CHIMES   IN  SYRIA 

strange  and  does  not  appeal  to  a  Westerner's 
appetite.  But,  worst  of  all,  among  the 
babel  of  noises,  there  is  not  a  familiar 
sound,  and  with  the  best  intentions  of 
friendliness,  one  cannot  reveal  the  inten- 
tion, except  by  the  perpetual,  inane  grin. 

We  began  the  study  of  the  language,  as 
everyone  does,  almost  at  the  wharf.  Even 
before  recovering  from  the  effects  of  the 
voyage,  the  Arabic  primer,  with  its  alpha- 
bet, was  brought  to  the  bedside.  At  one 
of  the  earliest  lessons  in  Tripoli,  the  old, 
gray-bearded  teacher  wished  to  impress  a 
new  word,  "Milh."  He  repeated  the  diffi- 
cult combination,  and  then  inquired  in 
some  way  whether  we  knew  what  the  word 
meant.  The  look  of  blank  ignorance  on  our 
faces  gave  him  the  answer,  and  he  rose  and 
stepped  with  dignity,  in  his  flowing  robes, 
to  the  door.  Opening  this,  he  called  in  a 
loud  voice  across  the  open  court  to  the 
cook,  "Peter,  bring  me  some  salt."  Then 
with  a  little  of  this  household  necessity  in 
his  palm,  he  came  back  to  his  stupid  pupils, 

[16  1 


LANGUAGE  STUDY 


and,  pointing  at  the  salt,  said  emphatically, 
"Milh."  That  word  was  permanently  fixed 
in  our  vocabulary. 

In  less  than  two  months  after  our  arrival 
in  Syria,  and  forty  days  after  taking  posses- 
sion of  our  own  home,  came  New  Year's 
Day.  With  the  self-confidence  of  youth 
and  ignorance,  we  decided  to  keep  open 
house  on  our  own  account.  In  the  fore- 
noon we  had  our  language  teacher  with  us 
to  steer  us  through  the  intricacies  of  orien- 
tal etiquette,  and  to  tell  us  what  to  say,  in 
the  varying  circumstances,  and  all  went 
well.  After  dinner,  however,  we  excused 
him,  as  we  did  not  expect  many  more  calls, 
and  waited  our  fate.  After  a  time,  when 
the  parlor  was  well  filled  with  a  mixed 
company  of  men  and  women,  among  whom 
was  the  old  teacher  who  had  taught  us  the 
word  for  salt,  I  used  the  wrong  pronominal 
termination,  probably  the  masculine  where 
I  should  have  used  the  feminine.  The  old 
gentleman  rose  from  his  place  with  great 
impressiveness  and  started  round  the  entire 

[17] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 


circle,  pointing  his  finger  at  each  person, 
and  pronouncing  distinctly  to  every  man, 
"tak"  and  to  every  woman,  "tik."  It 
created  a  laugh,  of  course,  but  it  is  needless 
to  say  that  whatever  mistakes  I  have  made 
in  Arabic  since,  it  has  never  been  because 
I  did  not  know  the  difference  between  the 
masculine  and  feminine  form  of  the  second 
person  pronominal  affix. 


[18 


Chapter  III 
TRAVEL   AND    COMMUNICATION 

IN  preparing  for  the  active  service  of  a 
missionary,  it  was  necessary  to  have 
a  horse  and  a  touring  outfit.  Our  serv- 
ant was  told  that  we  wanted  to  buy  a 
horse,  and  if  he  heard  of  any  good  chance, 
to  let  us  know.  In  a  few  days  a  man  came 
to  the  house  with  a  large  gray  mare  for 
me  to  try.  I  rode  on  her  a  little  and  ex- 
amined her  so  far  as  I  was  capable  of  doing, 
and  was  greatly  pleased  with  her.  I  knew 
enough,  however,  of  oriental  methods,  to 
show  no  particular  zeal  over  the  matter, 
and  left  the  owner  without  any  indication 
of  my  pleasure.  In  my  own  mind,  I  de- 
cided that  I  should  like  to  own  that  mare, 
and  that  I  would  be  willing  to  pay  as  much 
as  twenty  pounds  for  her,  though  I  hoped 
to  secure  a  horse  for  half  that  amount.     As 

[19] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

I  came  in  I  told  the  servant  to  make  in- 
quiry about  the  price  of  the  mare.  He 
returned  soon,  saying  the  owner  would 
sacrifice  his  own  interests  so  far  as  to  let 
me  have  her  for  seventy-five  pounds.  I 
did  not  buy  that  mare,  but  waited  several 
months  until  I  found  a  sturdy  gray  horse, 
which  I  bought  for  less  than  ten  pounds. 
He  served  me  well  for  five  years,  when  I 
sold  him  for  little  less  than  the  original 
cost. 

Tripoli  field  was  rejoicing  and  congratulat- 
ing itself  in  those  days  over  the  macadam- 
ized road  recently  opened  between  Tripoli 
at  the  coast  and  Horns  and  Hamath  in  the 
interior.  It  was  sixty-five  miles  to  Horns 
and  thirty-five  more  to  Hamath.  A  cum- 
bersome diligence  made  the  trip  to  Horns 
in  eleven  hours,  going  one  day  and  return- 
ing the  next,  and  a  lighter  vehicle  made 
the  round  trip  between  Horns  and  Hamath 
every  day.  This  was  a  great  advance  in 
rapid  transit  and  a  great  convenience  in  all 
lines  of  work. 

[20] 


TRAVEL  AXD  COMMUNICATION 

In  all  Syria  there  was  not  a  mile  of  rail- 
road, and  in  northern  Syria  there  was  no 
carriage  road  besides  the  one  line  just 
mentioned.  All  traveling  had  to  be  done 
on  horseback  or  afoot.  Horses,  donkeys, 
mules  and  camels  were  the  universal  means 
of  travel  and  transportation.  Every  day 
caravans  of  camels  came  into  Tripoli  by  the 
hundred,  bringing  grain,  olive  oil  and 
Syrian  butter  from  the  interior.  They  re- 
turned loaded  with  sugar,  rice,  kerosene 
oil,  and  English  yarn  and  cloth.  The  first 
railroad  was  built  in  the  early  nineties  from 
Jaffa  to  Jerusalem.  Later  came  the  line 
from  Beirut  to  Damascus;  then  the  line 
from  Haifa  through  Galilee  to  Damascus, 
the  line  from  Damascus  to  the  south,  and 
the  line  from  Damascus  to  Medina.  Then 
came  the  branch  line,  from  the  Beirut- 
Damascus  line,  to  Horns,  Hamath  and 
Aleppo,  and  finally  the  Tripoli  Horns  line 
and  the  German  Bagdad  line,  passing 
through  Aleppo  from  east  to  west.  With 
many  other  lines  and  extensions  under  con- 

[21] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

sideration,  it  is  evident  that  railroad  com- 
munication is  fairly  started  in  Syria  and 
that  this  part  of  the  East  has  begun  to  feel 
the  influence  of  steam. 

During  our  first  year  in  Tripoli,  before  I 
was  at  all  familiar  with  the  various  places, 
I  overheard  a  conversation  between  two  of 
our  associates  about  a  recent  trip  to  Beirut 
by  land.  The  remark  was  made,  "I  sup- 
pose you  took  a  carriage  from  Junieh  to 
Beirut."  This  is  about  one  fourth  of  the 
distance  and  was  considered  a  great  gain  in 
the  facilities  of  transportation.  The  an- 
swer came,  with  even  greater  evidence  of 
satisfaction,  "No,  I  rode  in  a  carriage  from 
Jebail."  This  meant  a  doubling  of  the 
advantage,  as  Jebail  is  halfway  between 
Tripoli  and  Beirut.  That  was  in  1889  and 
it  was  not  until  1912  that  this  carriage 
road  was  completed,  so  that  one  could  make 
the  whole  distance  on  wheels. 

The  tramway  connecting  Tripoli  City 
and  the  Mina,  or  harbor,  was  the  only 
tramway   in   Syria   and    was   an   object   of 


TRAVEL  AND  COMMUNICATION 

great  pride.  It  had  a  single  track  about 
two  miles  long,  with  a  switch  in  the  middle 
for  the  passing  of  cars  from  the  opposite 
ends.  A  car  started  from  each  terminus 
about  once  in  twenty  minutes  and  made 
the  trip  in  about  the  same  length  of  time, 
the  fare  being  four  cents  and  the  motor 
power  horses  or  mules.  The  cars  were 
originally  imported  from  Birmingham,  of 
the  double-decker  type.  They  are  still  in 
daily  service,  receiving  a  fresh  coat  of  paint 
and  necessary  repairs  every  year.  This 
line  continues  to  run,  though  with  some- 
what more  frequent  service  and  with  a 
reduced  fare  of  two  cents,  since  public 
carriages  now  run  on  a  road  alongside  the 
tram.  Carriage  roads  now  extend  in  several 
directions  from  Tripoli,  and  there  are  many 
public  carriages  to  hire;  even  an  automo- 
bile is  occasionally  seen  and  several  bicycles 
have  made  their  appearance. 

The  postal  system  is  a  curiosity  to  those 
who  are  accustomed  to  free  delivery  several 
times  a  day.     It  would  be  supposed  that 

[23] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

the  Turkish  post  would  carry  all  letters  for 
people  in  Turkey,  since  Turkey  is  a  member 
of  the  International  Postal  Union.  At  all 
the  seaports,  however,  one  finds  foreign 
post  offices,  which  do  a  large  business  in 
receiving  and  forwarding  mail  by  all  the 
steamers.  To  points  in  the  interior  they 
cannot  deliver  mail.  In  Tripoli  we  had  the 
French,  and  later  the  Austrian  service. 
In  1890  cholera  appeared  in  Tripoli  and  all 
steamers  stopped  calling  at  the  port,  to 
avoid  quarantine.  We  were  confined  to  the 
use  of  the  Turkish  mail.  Two  messengers 
brought  the  mail  by  land  from  Beirut  each 
week.  It  was  Tripoli  which  was  infected 
with  cholera,  and  yet  the  incoming  mail  was 
stopped  outside  the  city  and  drenched  with 
carbolic  acid,  while  the  outgoing  mail  was 
not  touched.  The  mail  distributor  in  Tri- 
poli could  not  read  any  language,  not  even 
Arabic,  and  so  he  used  to  bring  the  bag 
directly  to  our  house  and  empty  it  on  the 
floor,  in  order  to  get  my  help  in  assorting 

the  letters  for  him.     We  were  glad  to  have 

[24] 


TRAVEL  AND  COMMUNICATION 

the  first  pick  of  the  mail,  as  it  assured  our 
receiving  all  our  own  mail,  and  that 
promptly. 

At  the  last  conference  of  the  International 
Postal  Union  there  was  a  general  reduction 
of  postage  and  an  increase  in  the  unit  of 
weight.  Turkey  has  given  her  adherence 
to  this  international  arrangement,  but 
maintains  her  old  internal  rates  so  that  we 
have  the  present  absurd  condition,  that  a 
piaster  stamp  will  carry  twenty  grams  to 
any  place  abroad,  while  it  will  carry  only 
fifteen  grams  from  one  town  to  its  next 
neighbor.  Additional  weight  abroad  re- 
quires three  quarters  of  a  piaster  for  each 
additional  twenty  grams,  while  for  internal 
use  every  additional  fifteen  grains  requires 
a  full  piaster.  Thus  a  letter  weighing  sixty 
grams  will  go  from  an  interior  town  like 
Horns  to  San  Francisco  for  two  piasters 
and  a  half,  while  the  same  letter,  if  sent 
from  Homs  to  Tripoli,  would  cost  four 
piasters. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  there  would  be 

[  25  I 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

good  caravan  roads,  at  least,  in  a  country 

where    all    produce    must    be    carried    on 

quadrupeds,  and  all  travelers  must  ride  or 

walk.     The  reverse  was  true,   and  though 

the  past  twenty-five  years  have  witnessed 

great  improvement  in  this  respect,  there  is 

still  much  to  be  desired  in  most  localities. 

Many  of  the  roads  cannot  be  described  as 

anything    but    trails    through    the    rocky 

ground.     The  chief  consideration  in  locating 

a  road  seems  to  be  to  have  it  run  through 

ground  which  is  fit  for  nothing  else,  for  it 

would  be  a  pity   to   waste  arable  ground, 

and  so  a  road  must  go  around,  no  matter 

what   the   distance.     Whatever   stones    are 

gathered   from   the   fields   are   thrown   into 

the  highway,  making  it  rougher  than  ever. 

In  some  parts  of  the  mountains,  the  road 

will  lie  along  the  top  of  a  solid  stone  dike, 

ten   to   fifteen   feet   wide,   from    which   the 

traveler  looks  down  to  a  depth  of  eight  or 

ten    feet    upon    the    fields    and    mulberry 

patches    on    each    side.     It    has    been    said 

that  a  road,  in  Syria,  is  that  part  of  the 

[26] 


TRAVEL  AND  COMMUNICATION 

country  to  be  avoided  in  traveling,  so  far 
as  possible.  This  inference  is  easy  to  under- 
stand when  you  notice  that  all  the  trodden 
paths  are  in  the  fields  at  either  side,  and 
that  people  travel  in  the  rough  roads,  only 
when  there  is  no  escape.  While  the  grain 
is  growing  the  farmers  will  do  their  best, 
by  building  up  stone  walls,  to  keep  the 
animals  out  of  their  fields,  but  just  as  soon 
as  the  harvest  is  gathered  these  obstruc- 
tions go  down  and  the  current  of  traffic 
resumes  the  easier  course  until  the  winter 
rains  make  the  mud  a  worse  enemy  than 
the  rough  stones. 

In  other  places  it  is  often  an  interesting 
study  to  try  to  decide  whether  the  water 
flows  in  the  road,  or  whether  people  travel 
in  the  watercourses.  It  is  something  like 
the  insolvable  question  as  to  which  came 
first,  the  hen  or  the  egg.  The  fact  remains 
that,  as  a  rule,  in  wet  weather  and  rough 
country,  the  traveler  will  find  his  horse 
splashing  through  a  stream  of  water  flowing 

down  the  road.     The  explanation  is  simple. 

[27] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

There  is  nowhere  any  system  of  drainage, 
and  every  man's  purpose  is  to  turn  the 
streams  of  rain  water  away  from  his  own 
land.  Useful  land  cannot  be  wasted  for 
watercourses  any  more  than  for  roads,  and 
hence  the  waste  lands  are  devoted  to  the 
double  purpose,  with  the  resulting  confusion 
as  to  which  is  the  intruder. 

The  obscurity  of  the  roads  leads  to  many 
more  or  less  unpleasant  experiences.  There 
are  roads  so  steep  and  difficult  that  it  is  no 
unusual  experience  to  see  a  muleteer  take 
hold  of  his  mule's  tail  as  he  goes  down  the 
mountain  path,  and  by  a  judicious  holding 
back,  help  the  animal  to  steady  himself 
under  a  heavy,  awkward  load.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  he  is  going  up  the  moun- 
tain, the  tired  muleteer  will  take  hold  of 
the  same  convenient  handle  to  get  a  little 
help  for  himself  in  the  ascent. 

One  summer  night,  Mrs.  Nelson  and  I 
were  belated  on  the  higher  slopes  of  Mount 
Lebanon.  The  trail  was  little  more  than 
a  path  for  goats,  and  was  quite  unfamiliar 

[28] 


TRAVEL  AND   COMMUNICATION 

to  us.  In  the  dark  night,  we  lost  the  way 
more  than  once,  and  we  were  becoming 
quite  exhausted  in  repeated  efforts  to 
regain  the  path,  when,  at  last,  we  seemed 
to  have  strayed  completely,  and  I  could 
not  locate  the  road  at  all.  We  had  to  take 
a  little  rest,  and  wait  for  the  moon  to  rise. 
We  sat  upon  the  mountain  side,  under  the 
shade  of  fragrant  cedars,  tired,  hungry  and 
thirsty.  The  surroundings  were  charming 
and  the  dim  outlines  of  forest  and  moun- 
tain beautiful.  The  night  air  was  refresh- 
ing, after  an  exceptionally  hot  day;  but 
when  one  has  lost  his  way,  he  is  not  in  a 
condition  to  appreciate  fully  the  beauties  of 
nature  or  the  charms  of  his  surroundings. 
As  we  sat  there,  gaining  some  rest,  I  began 
to  study  the  outline  of  the  hills,  and  con- 
cluded that  the  road  must  lie  in  a  certain 
curve  of  the  mountains  not  far  away.  On 
investigating  I  found  my  impression  correct, 
and  we  resumed  our  journey,  reaching  our 
destination  just  as  the  moon  appeared  over 
the  highest  ridge  of  the  mountains. 

[29] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

On  another  occasion  it  was  the  intelli- 
gence of  my  horse  rather  than  my  own 
which  saved  me  considerable  inconvenience. 
I  was  belated  upon  the  mountain  and  over- 
taken by  sunset,  some  eight  miles  from  my 
destination.  Confident  in  my  horse  as  well 
as  in  myself,  I  pushed  on  as  rapidly  as 
possible  over  the  rough  path.  To  add  to 
my  difficulty,  a  thick  mountain  fog  settled 
about  me  until  it  was  impossible  to  see  the 
path  ten  feet  ahead.  In  descending  a  steep 
slope,  leading  my  horse,  I  missed  the  trail 
and  found  myself  in  the  vineyards.  I  knew 
that  the  village  was  close  at  hand  and 
anticipated  no  difficulty  in  working  down 
to  the  road.  At  any  rate,  it  seemed  likely 
that  we  should  arouse  the  night  watchman 
in  the  vineyard  and  it  would  be  his  duty  to 
turn  us  out  of  the  vineyard,  exactly  what 
we  wished  for.  We  stumbled  along,  over 
grapevines  and  stones,  but  came  no  nearer 
to  the  road,  nor  did  we  disturb  the  sleeping 
watchman.  After  what  seemed  like  end- 
less wandering,  though  the  distance  was  not 

[SO] 


TRAVEL  AXD  COMMUNICATION 

far  nor  the  time  long,  I  came  up  against  a 
stone  wall  and  could  see  a  path  beyond. 
Getting  over  this  wall  was  simple,  but 
which  way  to  turn  in  the  road  was  not 
clear.  I  tried  the  turn  to  the  right,  tenta- 
tively, not  fully  convinced  myself.  My 
horse  yielded  reluctantly  and  walked  very 
slowly  indeed  over  the  rough  stones.  After 
a  few  minutes  my  own  doubts  increased 
and  I  determined  to  test  the  horse.  Drop- 
ping the  reins  loosely  on  his  neck,  I  gave 
him  no  sign  of  guidance  at  all.  As  soon  as 
he  felt  the  relaxing  of  pressure  on  the  bits, 
his  head  rose,  his  ears  stood  erect  and  he 
seemed  to  cast  an  inquiring  glance  out  of 
the  corner  of  his  eye.  When  convinced 
that  he  was  free  to  choose  for  himself,  he 
immediately  swung  around  and  started  at  a 
rapid  walk  in  the  opposite  direction.  In  a 
very  few  minutes  I  could  see  the  village 
lights  struggling  through  the  mists,  and 
was  soon  at  my  own  door. 

This  same  horse  gave  me  another  illus- 
tration   of    his    intelligence.     I    was  riding 

[31] 


SILVER   CHIMES  IN   SYRIA 

along  the  carriage  road,  on  the  seashore, 
intending  to  turn  up  to  one  of  the  moun- 
tain villages.  There  were  two  roads  to  this 
village,  and  when  we  came  to  the  first  my 
horse  tried  to  turn  up,  but  was  easily  held 
back  and  started  briskly  along,  as  if  fully 
understanding  my  purpose.  When  we  came 
to  the  second  road  we  found  that  it  had 
been  plowed  under  and  that  grain  several 
inches  high  was  growing  where  the  path 
had  been.  I  knew  that  the  road  had  been 
moved  a  short  distance  so  as  to  pass  a 
khan  recently  erected.  The  horse  had  not 
yet  gone  over  this  altered  road  and  so  was 
puzzled.  I  left  him  to  his  own  guidance. 
When  he  came  to  the  point  where  the  road 
had  divided,  he  stopped  and  looked  at  the 
grain,  and  then  went  slowly  on,  looking 
constantly  at  the  field,  until,  after  about 
twenty  or  thirty  feet,  he  decided  to  make 
a  plunge,  and  struck  directly  through  the 
growing  grain  to  where  the  old  road  had 
been  at  the  other  edge  of  the  field. 

The   introduction    of   railroads    and    car- 
ls* I 


TRAVEL  AND   COMMUNICATION 

riages  throughout  the  country  facilitates 
travel  and  business  a  great  deal,  but  it 
takes  away  much  of  the  interest  and  di- 
version of  getting  about  from  place  to 
place. 


[33] 


Chapter  IV 
EVANGELISTIC  TRIPS 

IT  was  a  practice  with  us  for  many- 
years  to  arrange  a  special  evangelistic 
medical  trip  in  the  spring  of  the  year. 
Sometimes  Mrs.  Nelson  and  I  would  join 
Dr.  Harris  in  a  journey  of  two  or  three 
weeks,  and  sometimes  the  doctor  and  I 
would  go  alone.  One  of  the  most  memo- 
rable of  these  journeys  was  in  the  spring  of 
1893,  in  the  month  of  May.  We  had  our 
tent  and  camp  outfit  and  the  large  chests  of 
medical  supplies  carried  on  mules  and  were 
accompanied  by  our  cook,  with  his  portable 
kitchen  packed  away  under  him,  and  the 
Syrian  assistant  of  the  doctor,  so  that  we 
made  quite  a  party  altogether.  We  started 
along  the  shore  north  from  Tripoli,  making 
our  first  camp  about  ten  miles  out  of  the 

city.     The  next  day's  journey  brought  us 

[34] 

> 


LATAK1A    BOYS'   S<  I  [mil. 


TAETOOSE 


Crusader*    Church 


EVANGELISTIC  TRIPS 


to  Tartoose  on  the  shore  opposite  the  island 
of  Arvad.  Ezek.  27:8.  This  island  lies 
only  a  short  distance  from  the  shore,  but  I 
have  never  yet  been  able  to  reach  it  be- 
cause of  the  violent  west  wind  on  each 
occasion  of  a  visit  to  Tartoose.  The  island 
is  wholly  covered  by  the  town,  which  is 
occupied  by  sturdy  sailors  and  fishermen. 
There  are  many  interesting  relics  of  ancient 
times  in  Tartoose,  though  it  is  possible  that 
many  of  the  coins  offered  to  the  credulous 
public  may  have  been  produced  recently  in 
the  place  itself. 

At  the  edge  of  the  town  stands  a  fine 
Gothic  church,  whose  substantial  walls  and 
graceful  arches  are  a  pleasure  to  the  eye. 
The  empty  windows  make  one  feel  lone- 
some as  he  approaches  the  building,  and  the 
bare  interior  speaks  of  a  decadent  Chris- 
tianity that  adds  to  the  sadness.  But, 
worst  of  all,  is  the  minaret  crudely  built 
on  the  corner  of  the  roof,  for  this  is  another 
of  the  many  Christian  churches  in  Turkey 
which  have  been  transformed  into  mosques. 


[!S5] 


SILVER   CHIMES   IN  SYRIA 

At  another  of  our  camping  places  we 
found,  near  at  hand,  an  old  Roman  amphi- 

0 

theater,  where  it  was  not  difficult  to  imagine 
a  concourse  of  pleasure  seekers  seated  on 
the  stone  benches  watching  some  exhibition 
of  strength  or  skill  in  the  arena  below. 
Wherever  one  goes  in  Syria,  he  is  reminded 
of  an  ancient  glory  and  power,  in  close  and 
vivid  contrast  to  a  present  state  of  decay 
and  weakness. 

Our  first  Sabbath,  on  this  journey,  found 
us  at  Latakia,  where  we  spent  the  day  with 
our  neighbors  and  fellow  workers  of  the 
Reformed  Presbyterian  mission.  This  mis- 
sion was  started  especially  to  reach  the 
Nusairiyeh  people  of  north  Syria.  Because 
of  the  persistent  interference  of  the  Turkish 
Government,  their  work  has  been  greatly 
hampered  and  their  efforts  largely  restricted 
to  the  training  of  boys  and  girls  in  the 
boarding  institutions  in  the  city,  and  minis- 
tration to  the  sick  in  the  hospital.  It  was 
a  great  pleasure  to  have  this  break  in  our 
journey  and  the  pleasant  intercourse  with 

[3G] 


EVANGELISTIC  TRIPS 


those  engaged  in  the  same  kind  of  service  as 
our  own,  and  to  have  the  privilege  of  speak- 
ing to  the  young  people  in  their  schools. 
On  Monday  we  went  a  short  distance 
from  the  city,  pitching  our  tent  near  a 
village  of  considerable  size  on  the  plain 
some  miles  back  from  the  sea.  As  I  sat 
in  the  moonlight  at  the  door  of  the  tent,  a 
man  wearing  the  white  turban  of  a  Moslem 
scholar  approached  me.  He  seated  himself 
near  me  after  a  pleasant  greeting  and  we 
fell  into  agreeable  conversation.  After  some 
time,  this  man  took  the  opportunity,  when 
no  one  was  near  enough  to  overhear  him, 
to  ask  most  earnestly  that  we  should  send 
them  a  teacher  for  their  children.  I  was 
surprised  at  the  request  from  such  a  source 
and  turned  the  conversation  so  as  to  make 
sure  that  he  understood  who  we  were  and 
what  kind  of  schools  we  conducted.  He 
showed  that  he  understood  the  matter 
fully,  and  that  he  really  desired  a  Protes- 
tant Christian  teacher  for  his  town.  I  then 
asked  him  directly,  "Are  you  not  a  Mos- 

[37] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

lcm?"  Looking  about  again,  to  make  sure 
no  one  should  hear  him,  he  said,  'Yes,  I 
am  a  Moslem  now,"  with  an  emphasis  on 
the  last  word  which  revealed  the  facts  in 
the  case.  He  was  of  a  Nusairiyeh  family 
but  had  yielded  to  the  persistent  pressure 
of  the  government  so  far  as  to  accept  the 
form  of  adherence  to  Islam,  though  in  his 
heart  he  hated  the  system  and  its  followers 
most  cordially. 

A  long  day's  ride  brought  us  through  the 
wild  and  tortuous  valley  of  the  Nahr-ul- 
Kandil,  up  the  slope  of  Mount  Cassius  to  the 
town  of  Kessab,  some  four  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea,  where  the  Latakia  mission- 
aries have  their  summer  homes.  It  was  a 
most  beautiful  though  rugged  ride,  and 
would  have  been  thoroughly  enjoyable  in 
good  weather.  The  wild  flowers  were  in  full 
bloom,  and  every  turn  in  the  road  brought 
into  view  a  new  combination  of  varied  ami 
bright  colors,  where  the  little  blossoms 
clustered  amid  the  green  foliage,  among  the 
gray    rocks.     The    great    drawback    to    our 

[38] 


E\  AXGELISTIC  TRIPS 


enjoyment  lay  in  the  fact  that  for  a  large 
part  of  the  distance  we  rode  in  a  heavy  and 
most  unexpected  rainfall.  We  were  not 
prepared  for  such  an  experience  in  the 
month  of  May,  and  so  reached  our  desti- 
nation  soaked  and  cold.  We  had  been 
directed  to  take  possession  of  one  of  the 
cottages  belonging  to  the  missionaries  in 
Latakia,  and  it  was  certainly  a  most  wel- 
come haven.  We  were  able  to  light  a  fire 
in  the  kitchen  stove  and  spread  out  our 
wet  garments  to  dry,  while  we  warmed  our- 
selves in  the  grateful  heat. 

It  was  a  disappointment  the  next  day 
that  the  top  of  Cassius  was  enveloped  in 
heavy  cloud,  forbidding  an  ascent.  This 
mountain  is  about  five  thousand  feet  in 
height,  rising  directly  from  the  sea,  and  so 
is  a  conspicuous  object  from  every  direction 
and  gives  an  extensive  view  from  its  sum- 
mit. We  could  tarry  but  one  day,  and 
descended  to  the  old  site  of  Seleucia,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Orontes,  and  saw  some  rem- 
nants of   the  old   harbor  from    which   Paul 

[39  1 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

set  sail   more  than   once.     The  Orontes  is 

quite  wide  and  deep  near  its  mouth  and  we 

crossed  it  on  just  such  a  wire  ferry  as  I  had 

seen  many  years  before  on  the  Connecticut 

River   in   Massachusetts.     The   gardens   of 

Swadia    were    most    refreshing    with    their 

green   verdure,    cool   shade   and   rich   fruit, 

after   a   long   day's   ride   in   the   heat,    and 

again   we   had   the   pleasure   of   missionary 

fellowship,  for  our  friends  of  the  Reformed 

Presbyterian    mission    have   a   station    here 

also.     Another   easy    stage    brought    us    to 

old  Antioch,  so  closely  associated  with  the 

beginning  of   Christian  history.     It  is  not 

an   attractive  city   in   outward   appearance 

and  has   suffered   much   at   different  times 

from   earthquake. 

From  Antioch   we  followed   the  Orontes 

Valley  up  to  Hamath,  where  we  were  once 

more   among   our   own    organized    stations. 

Such    journeys    give    us    an    acquaintance 

with  the  country  and  the  people,  which  is 

of  the  most  vital  importance    in    planning 

for  the  proper  expansion  of  the  work. 

[40] 


EVANGELISTIC  TRIPS 


Once,  on  a  pleasant  summer  evening, 
we  were  encamped  near  a  Nusairiyeh 
village.  Among  those  gathered  about  us 
were  an  elderly  peasant  and  his  son,  a 
well-built,  sturdy  youth  of  seventeen  or 
eighteen  years.  As  he  sat  before  us  this 
young  man  appeared  to  be  in  perfect 
health  and  vigor,  but  when  he  rose  to 
walk,  his  awkward  gait  revealed  his  mis- 
fortune, for  both  feet  were  so  badly  de- 
formed that  he  walked  on  his  ankles  and 
not  on  the  soles  of  his  feet.  The  doctor 
was  asked  whether  this  defect  could  be 
remedied.  After  a  careful  examination  the 
lad  was  told  that  the  operation  would  be 
painful,  and  that  some  time  would  be 
required,  but  that  if  he  would  come  to  the 
hospital,  prepared  to  stay  as  long  as 
should  be  necessary,  he  would  be  able  to 
come  away,  walking  erect,  like  other 
people.  The  faces  brightened  at  once,  and 
we  shared  in  their  pleasure  at  the  prospect 
of    this    deliverance.     The    next    morning, 

however,    we    were    told    that    the    family 

[«1 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

had   talked   over   the   matter   and   decided 

not  to  have  the  operation  performed.     We 

assured  them  there  should  be  no  expense, 

but   they   said   it   was   not   the   matter   of 

expense.     Then    we    told    them    of    similar 

cases  which  had  been  successfully  treated, 

but  they  assured  us  they  had  no  doubt  of 

the     doctor's     skill.     We     encouraged     the 

young  man  to  bear  the  pain  for  the  sake 

of  increased  enjoyment  in  life  afterwards, 

but  he  said  he  was  not  afraid  of  the  pain. 

What  then   was  the  trouble?     At  last   we 

learned    the    truth.     So    long    as    the    lad 

could  show  two  such  clubbed  feet,  he  would 

be  excused  from  military  service;  but  if  they 

were  made  straight  he  would  be  called  to 

the  army;    and  he  would  rather  go  through 

life   a   cripple   than   to   give    several   years 

of    his    vigor    to    service    in    the    Turkish 

army.     And    he    is    no    exception. 

We    were    approaching    a    large    town    of 

bigoted   people,  wondering   how  we   should 

secure    an    opening    for    our     message.     I 

was  riding  slightly  in  front  of  the  doctor, 

[42] 


EVANGELISTIC  TRIPS 


occupied  with  plans  for  securing  access  to 
the  people.  Suddenly  I  heard  the  doctor's 
voice  behind  me  saying,  'Boy,  do  you 
want  your  eye  straightened?"  On  looking 
back  I  saw  a  lad  of  about  fifteen  years, 
with  a  decidedly  crossed  eye,  beside  the 
doctor's  horse.  He  promptly  accepted  the 
offer,  and  we  hastened  to  dismount  and  tie 
our  horses.  A  table  in  the  little  roadside 
cafe  was  quickly  cleared,  while  the  doctor 
got  out  his  case  of  instruments  from  his 
saddlebags.  The  boy  was  placed  on  the 
table  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  the 
cords  were  severed  so  that  the  eyeball 
took  its  proper  position,  and  we  were 
thoroughly  advertised.  By  the  time  our 
camp  equipage  came  up,  we  had  been 
provided  with  an  excellent  place  to  camp, 
and  had  nothing  to  complain  of  in  the 
reception  of  the  people. 

A  memorable  experience  was  in  the 
neighborhood  of  a  large  village  whose 
gardens  are  said  to  be  watered  by  three 
hundred     springs.     Whatever     the    correct 

[  18  ] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

number  may  be,  there  is  no  question  about 
the  abundance  of  water  and  the  luxuriance 
of  the  gardens.  We  had  three  tents,  one 
for  medical  clinics  and  one  apiece  for  our 
two  households,  and  settled  down  for  a 
fortnight's  work.  Every  day  we  had 
crowds  about  the  tent  for  medical  atten- 
tion and  for  religious  services.  The  even- 
ings gave  abundant  opportunity  for  work 
among  those  who  gathered  about  us  after 
their  day's  work  was  done.  They  were 
glad  to  join  in  the  hymns  of  praise,  and 
listened  earnestly  to  the  spoken  message 
and  read  word.  One  evening,  the  boys 
who  gathered  about  the  tent  told  me  that 
the  superintendent  of  their  school  was  in 
town  and  had  begun  an  examination,  to 
be  finished  the  next  day.  I  decided  to  go 
to  the  school  the  next  morning  to  make  the 
acquaintance  of  the  superintendent  and  to 
see  what  the  school  was  doing.  When  I 
arose  the  following  day,  I  found  many  of 
the  boys  about  the  tent,  and  asked  them 
why  they  were  not  at  school  for    the   ex- 

1  44  ] 


EVANGELISTIC  TRIPS 


animation.  "Oh,"  they  said,  "there  is  no 
examination  to-day.  Early  this  morning, 
the  superintendent,  the  teachers  and  the 
headman  of  the  village  took  their  horses, 
a  large  bottle  of  spirits  and  a  young  kid, 
and  went  up  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  to 
a  famous  spring  to  spend  the  day  in  a 
drinking   spree." 

One  of  the  pleasantest  evenings  I  re- 
member in  my  regular  routine  touring  was 
spent  in  this  same  village.  We  had 
brought  our  party  to  a  garden,  owned  by 
one  of  our  friends  who  was  always  glad  to 
have  us  make  it  our  headquarters.  We 
had  eaten  our  supper  and  were  seated  on 
the  ground,  under  a  high,  branching  tree 
into  which  was  trained  a  huge  grapevine. 
Behind  us  was  a  little  hut,  in  which  the 
caretaker  slept  in  stormy  weather.  At 
one  side  was  a  rude  booth  where  the  owner 
slept  during  the  summer.  An  oil  lantern 
gave  some  light.  One  by  one  quite  a 
group   of   neighbors   and   friends   assembled 

and,    after   some   general    conversation,    we 

[46] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

sang  some  hymns.  Then  I  opened  the 
Bible  for  a  little  reading,  with  simple 
exposition.  As  I  read  and  talked  to  them, 
the  row  of  dark  faces  was  turned  toward 
me  with  an  intentness  and  eagerness  to 
hear  that  made  me  hope  they  might  not 
see  me  or  hear  my  words,  but  hear  those 
words  of  life  spoken  so  many  years  ago  in 
Palestine,  and  see  that  Face  from  which 
alone   shines   the   true   light. 

We  are  not  always  left  to  do  as  we  please 
on  these  trips,  for  the  paternal  Turkish 
Government  sometimes  takes  an  unneces- 
sary interest  in  our  plans  and  shows  an 
excessive  concern  for  our  safety.  We  had 
crossed  a  rugged  section  of  the  mountains 
and  come  down  to  a  walled  town,  which  is 
a  government  center.  Here  we  camped 
near  the  town  and  were  promptly  favored 
with  a  call  from  officials,  sent  by  the  gov- 
ernor to  find  out  who  we  were.  We  paid 
a  formal  call  on  his  Excellency  and  were 
allowed    to    remain    quietly    as    long   as    we 

desired.     When    we    broke    camp    a    polite 

[461 


EVAXCJKLISTIC   TRIPS 


message  came  from  the  governor,  asking 
where  we  were  going  and  offering  a  guard 
and  escort.  We  returned  a  grateful  ac- 
knowledgment of  his  courtesy,  hut  assured 
him  that  we  were  familiar  with  the  roads 
and  would  not  trouble  him  to  send  an 
escort.  It  was  only  after  some  difficulty 
that  we  succeeded  in  getting  away  alone. 
We  learned  afterwards  that  we  were  fol- 
lowed, and  that,  in  accordance  with  in- 
structions from  headquarters,  word  was 
sent  from  place  to  place  to  keep  watch  of 
us.  At  one  large  town  we  had  large  crowds 
about  our  camp  and  large  audiences  for 
evening  services  for  several  days,  when 
suddenly  there  was  a  change  and  no  one 
came  near  us.  Apparently  the  sick  were 
all  healed  and  all  interest  in  singing  and 
conversation  had  ceased.  It  developed  that 
word  had  been  sent  to  the  nearest  govern- 
ment center,  and  orders  had  come  back  at 
once,  not  to  interfere  with  our  comfort  but 
to  notify  the  people  to  have  nothing  to  do 

with    us.     At    one    of    these    places,    which 

[47] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

were  all  occupied  by  Nusairiyeh  and  Is- 
maeliyeh  people,  Mrs.  Nelson  was  talking 
with  some  of  the  women  about  religion. 
They  said,  "Do  Christian  women  have  any 
religion?"  When  assured  that  we  believe 
religion  to  be  for  everyone,  whether  male 
or  female,  rich  or  poor,  wise  or  ignorant, 
they  replied:  "It  is  not  so  with  us.  A 
woman  with  us  can  have  no  share  in  re- 
ligion. If  one  of  us  should  accidentally 
overhear  the  men  talking  about  religious 
beliefs,  so  that  she  unintentionally  learned 
some  religious  doctrine,  she  ought  to  ac- 
knowledge it  and  be  put  to  death.  And 
it  is  right  to  be  so,  for  a  woman  must 
know  nothing  of  religion." 

On  another  occasion,  quite  a  party  of  us 
stopped  to  spend  the  night  in  one  of  these 
towns.  While  I  was  busy  with  arrangements 
for  the  night  other  members  of  the  party 
went  to  look  about  the  little  castle  at  the 
edge  of  the  town.  Our  presence  was  reported 
to  the  acting  governor.  Unfortunately  he 
was  a  man  of  surly  disposition  and  anxious 

[48] 


EVANGELISTIC   TRIPS 


to  magnify  his  office.  He  demanded  our 
Turkish  passports,  which  he  had  a  tech- 
nical right  to  do.  Unfortunately  some  of 
the  party  had  failed  to  provide  themselves 
with  these  documents  as  they  were  seldom 
called  for.  It  gave  our  little  governor  a 
chance  and  he  used  it,  insisting  that  he 
must  send  us  to  Hamath,  practically  under 
guard,  but  nominally  under  military  pro- 
tection. We  were  intending  to  go  to 
Hamath,  but  not  directly,  and  so  it  was 
finally  agreed  that  the  horseman  go  with 
us  to  Mahardeh  where  we  were  to  lodge, 
and  accompany  us  the  following  day  to 
Hamath.  When  we  started  out  the  next 
morning,  it  was  ludicrous  to  see  the 
haughty  airs  of  this  soldier  who  was  sent 
with  us.  He  acted  as  if  he  really  believed 
these  foreigners  were  committed  to  his 
absolute  control  and  carried  his  head  very 
high.  Before  going  many  miles  we  had 
succeeded,  by  pleasant  conversation,  in 
limbering  him  up  considerably,  and  by 
noon,    when    we   stopped    for   luncheon,    he 

[49] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

displayed  his  power  in  our  behalf  by  order- 
ing the  villagers  to  serve  us  in  every  way 
possible.  By  evening,  when  we  entered 
Mahardeh,  he  was  quite  cringing  in  his 
servility,  for  now  he  realized  that  he  was 
alone  and  we  were  among  friends,  so  it  was 
worth  while  to  be  genial  and  submissive. 
When  I  informed  him  that  I  was  not  going 
with  the  party  the  next  day,  he  claimed  to 
be  greatly  terrified  and  begged  me  most 
humbly  not  to  subject  him  to  such  peril. 
"For,"  said  he,  "the  number  of  foreigners 
is  mentioned  in  the  governor's  letter,  and 
if  I  do  not  produce  the  full  number,  I 
shall  be  held  responsible."  I  said,  "Be 
that  as  it  may,  I  must  stay  here  over  Sun- 
day and  on  Monday  morning  I  will  follow 
and  report  myself  to  his  Excellency  if 
necessary."  He  went  away,  apparently 
in  much  uncertainty.  I  knew,  however, 
that  the  matter  was  a  mere  formality  and 
would  bring  no  risk  either  to  him  or  to  me; 
and  so  it  proved,  for  the  governor  took  no 
interest  in  the  matter  at  all. 

[50  1 


EVANGELISTIC  TRIPS 


On  a  warm  summer  evening,  Dr.  Harris 
and  I  rode  up  to  the  sheik's  house  in  a 
village  I  have  never  visited  before  or 
since.  As  strangers  we  were  welcomed  to 
the  public  room.  It  was  soon  discovered 
that  a  doctor  was  present,  and  immedi- 
ately all  who  were  diseased  came  about  us. 
It  was  a  marvel  to  see  men  lie  down  before 
this  stranger  with  perfect  confidence  and 
allow  him  to  cut  about  their  eyes  or  put 
drops  in  them.  It  does  happen,  alas,  too 
often,  that  this  credulity  costs  them  dear, 
for  many  an  eye  has  been  ruined  by  con- 
scienceless quacks  who  trade  on  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  people.  It  is  a  pleasure, 
however,  to  see  them  place  themselves  in 
the  hands  of  the  skillful  and  honest  mis- 
sionary physician,  who  will  help  them,  if 
possible,  or  tell  them  truthfully  if  there  is 
no  remedy.  At  sunset  a  large  dish  of 
wheat,  boiled  with  some  meat,  was  brought 
out,  and  cakes  of  barley  bread  placed  about 
it.  All  who  were  present  were  bidden  to 
partake,  and  we  did  the  best  we  could  to 

[51] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

satisfy  our  hunger.  After  a  social  evening 
we  spread  our  beds  and  made  ready  for 
sleep,  if  possible.  As  I  lay  on  my  bed,  I 
could  hear  those  who  sat  about  discussing 
us.  They  told  of  the  doctor's  famous  skill 
and  what  he  had  done  there  before  them. 
I  was  glad  to  find  that  I  held  the  humble 
position  of  doctor's  assistant  in  their  es- 
timation. But  I  could  not  help  wondering 
then  and  since  about  that  village.  So  far 
as  I  know  that  is  the  only  missionary  visit 
ever  made  there.     Is  it  enough? 


[52] 


i* 


'»- 


ALEPPO   MINARET 


Chapter  V 

ALEPPO 

IN  1893  a  plan  was  developed  in  the 
mission  to  extend  our  sphere  of  labor 
so  as  to  include  the  city  of  Aleppo,  which 
had  been  occupied  many  years  before  by 
the  mission  and  then  left  because  of  the 
exigencies  of  the  work  and  lack  of  forces. 
It  was  a  four  days'  journey  from  our 
nearest  outstation,  and  hence  not  easy  to 
care  for;  but  as  Tripoli  Station  was  the 
nearest  part  of  the  mission,  Aleppo  was 
placed    under    our    direction. 

Aleppo  is  one  of  the  largest  cities  in 
Syria,  and  a  most  important  commercial 
center.  It  is  nearly  the  most  northern 
point  for  the  use  of  the  Arabic  language, 
as  Turkish  becomes  the  general  medium  of 
communication  one  day's  journey  farther 
north.     Being  so  near  the  Turkish  district, 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

there  are  many  Turkish-speaking  people 
in  Aleppo,  but  the  city  as  a  whole  is  es- 
sentially an  Arabic-speaking  place.  The 
American  Board  had  a  Turkish  congrega- 
tion connected  with  their  mission  and 
maintained  church  and  school  work  in 
Aleppo  for  the  Turkish-speaking  strangers 
resident  in  the  city.  There  was  the  most 
cordial  welcome  from  these  missionaries 
to  our  proposal  to  organize  work  for  the 
Arabic-speaking  population.  Before  mak- 
ing my  first  visit  of  supervision  to  Aleppo 
it  was  arranged  by  correspondence  that 
Mr.  Sanders  of  Aintab,  the  missionary  in 
charge  of  that  district,  should  meet  me 
and  spend  several  days  in  conference  as  to 
the  arrangement  of  details  of  our  inter- 
locking work.  It  had  been  proposed  most 
kindly  that  we  should  hold  our  Arabic 
services  in  the  premises  of  the  Turkish 
congregation. 

In    many    ways    that    first    journey    to 
Aleppo  was  a  unique  experience.     It  was  a 

venture    into    a    region    of    country    wholly 

[54] 


ALEPPO 


new  to  me,  and  involved  planning  for  a 
new  department  of  service.  There  were 
two  ways  to  reach  Aleppo,  one  wholly  by 
land,  involving  a  somewhat  dangerous  ride 
from  Hamath  for  four  days;  the  other  by 
sea  to  Alexandretta,  and  thence  by  horse- 
back over  a  carriage  road  to  Aleppo.  It 
was  decided  to  take  this  latter  course, 
though  all  subsequent  visits  were  made 
the  other  way.  After  gaining  all  the  in- 
formation I  could  before  leaving  home,  I 
took  the  steamer  to  Alexandretta,  where 
I  landed  on  Monday  morning.  At  once 
I  began  my  search  for  a  riding  animal, 
and  at  length  secured  a  horse  guaranteed 
to  be  swift  and  of  easy  gait,  whose  owner 
promised  to  see  me  in  Aleppo  by  the  even- 
ing of  the  third  day.  Delayed  by  those 
who  wished  to  accompany  us,  it  was  past 
noon  before  we  set  out  on  the  road.  It 
was  not  long  before  I  discovered  that  the 
ease  had  been  left  out  in  the  structure  of 
my  horse,  and  that  any  speed  he  may  have 
had  once  was  well-nigh  worn  out.     It  was 

[  55  I 


SILVER   CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

clear  that  I  should  have  to  work  my  pas- 
sage, but  my  courage  held  out. 

We  pressed  up  the  mountain  slope  and 
crossed  the  ridge  in  good  time,  having 
many  beautiful  views  back  over  the  dark 
blue  Mediterranean.  Mount  Cassius  lifted 
its  rocky  head  five  thousand  feet,  directly 
out  of  the  sea,  to  the  south,  showing  where 
the  Orontes  empties  into  the  sea  at  old 
Seleucia.  After  passing  the  summit  of 
the  range  we  dropped  down  rapidly  to  the 
Antioch  plain,  having  the  lake  of  Antioch 
in  full  view  before  us.  By  sunset  we  had 
reached  the  place  intended  as  our  first 
halt,  thirty-seven  kilometers  from  the  shore. 
I  found  no  place  of  entertainment  but  a 
bare  inn  where  I  could  set  up  my  camp  bed 
and  sleep.  There  was  no  food  to  be  had 
for  love  or  money  and  so  I  had  to  depend 
on  the  scant  supplies  I  had  brought  with 
me  in  my  saddlebags. 

The  second  day's  ride  was  much  longer 

than  the  first,  as  we  kept  to  the  saddle  for 

twelve  hours,  notwithstanding  the  entreaty 

[561 


ALEPPO 


of  my  companions  to  break  the  journey 
earlier.  I  reminded  them  of  the  pledge  to 
reach  Aleppo  on  the  third  day,  and  so  kept 
on  until  dusk.  We  had  left  the  carriage 
road  for  a  more  direct  trail  and  stopped 
for  the  night  in  a  small,  desolate  village. 
There  was  no  decent  shelter  to  be  found 
and  so  I  gladly  set  up  my  bed  on  the 
threshing  floor,  and  slept  under  the  starry 
sky.  I  inquired  for  milk,  eggs,  bread, 
cheese,  anything  in  the  way  of  food,  offer- 
ing ample  pay  for  anything  edible.  After 
much  persuasion  the  people  were  induced 
to  burrow  in  the  straw  pile  on  the  thresh- 
ing floor  from  which  they  produced  a  water- 
melon. This  was  refreshing  at  least,  and 
helped  to  wash  down  my  bread,  which  was 
getting  rather  dry,  as  I  did  not  like  to  use 
much  water  in  this  swampy  region.  Long 
before  dawn  we  were  again  on  the  road 
and  pushed  steadily  ahead  over  ridge  after 
ridge,  until,  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon, 
the  city  of  Aleppo  broke  on  our  sight,  a 
most     refreshing     vision.     In     one    of     the 

[57] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

valleys  near  Aleppo  the  traveler  cannot 
fail  to  notice  many  heaps  of  small  stones, 
evidently  placed  there  to  mark  certain 
spots.  The  place  is  called  the  valley  of  the 
slain,  and  each  pile  indicates  where  some 
victim  has  fallen. 

The  appearance  of  Aleppo  as  one  ap- 
proaches it  from  the  west  is  not  unpleasing, 
for  it  is  the  first  well-built  town  seen  after 
leaving  the  coast.  The  houses  are  built 
of  white  limestone  and  the  gardens  about 
the  city  lend  a  touch  of  green,  most  re- 
freshing after  the  barren  country  left 
behind.  At  first  sight  the  designation  of 
Aleppo  as  Haleb-es-Shahba — Aleppo  the 
Gray — seems  most  appropriate.  It  is  a 
pity  to  detract  from  the  more  poetic  ex- 
planation of  the  title.  Old  tradition  says 
that  Abraham  had  his  encampment  at  the 
site  of  Aleppo  for  a  long  time,  and  was 
recognized  throughout  the  region  for  his 
wealth  and  generosity.  He  had  set  apart 
for  the  use  of  the  poor  the  milk  from  a 
certain   gray   cow   in   his   herd,   and   hence 

[58] 


ALEPPO 


some  one  was  always  on  the  watch  at 
evening.  As  soon  as  the  gray  cow  came 
forward,  this  watchman  would  shout  at 
the  top  of  his  voice,  "Haleb  es  Shahba," 
which  means,  ''He  has  milked  the  gray 
cow."  Hence  the  city,  which  later  grew 
up  at  this  spot,  was  called  Haleb-es-Shahba, 
or  Aleppo. 

I  shall  never  forget  a  conversation  con- 
nected with  that  journey.  My  comrades 
were  all  Moslems,  and  as  we  jogged  on, 
hour  after  hour,  during  those  three  days, 
there  were  opportunities  for  conversation 
on  many  topics.  One  day  I  asked  one  of 
them  who  was  a  religious  teacher,  what  his 
doctrine  had  to  say  as  to  the  fate  of  non- 
Moslem  infants  who  died  in  infancy.  I 
was  surprised  to  find  how  closely  his  view 
parallels  our  own  Christian  view  of  infant 
salvation.  He  answered  at  once  that  they 
are  all  saved  through  the  intercession  of 
Mohammed. 

On  reaching  the  city  I  sought  a  hotel, 
in  order  to  remove  the  soil  of  travel  before 

[59] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

hunting  up  our  friends  in  this  strange  city. 
I  was  in  the  midst  of  making  myself  pre- 
sentable when  a  loud  knock  at  my  door  was 
followed  immediately  by  its  opening,  and 
a  rough  Turkish  police  officer  made  his  ap- 
pearance. Without  a  word  or  suggestion  of 
apology,  he  began  a  series  of  questions  as 
to  my  name,  residence  and  occupation.  I 
let  him  exhaust  his  list  of  questions  and 
then  asked,  as  quietly  as  possible,  whether 
he  would  like  to  look  over  my  Turkish 
passport,  which  was  required  of  all  in  those 
days.  He  seemed  to  be  so  completely 
taken  aback  at  my  evident  lack  of  awe  for 
himself,  and  surprised  to  meet  a  person 
who  was  prepared  in  accordance  with  the 
law,  that  he  could  scarcely  stammer  out 
in  reply,  'Why,  have  you  a  passport?" 
"Certainly,"  I  replied.  "Here  it  is,  with 
all  the  information  you  need."  He  sat 
down  most  meekly  and  copied  off  the  items 
he  needed  and  took  his  departure  in  a 
really   polite   manner. 

As    this    was    my    first    visit    to    Aleppo, 

[60] 


ALEPPO 


everything  seemed  strange  to  me,  except 
in  so  far  as  all  oriental  cities  have  a  meas- 
ure of  resemblance.  As  I  was  met  also  by 
Mr.  Sanders,  a  missionary  in  charge  of 
established  work,  I  found  it  natural  to 
expect  to  be  dependent  on  him  for  every- 
thing. It  came  thus  as  a  surprise  to  have 
him  turn  to  me,  in  the  street,  to  act  as 
interpreter.  He  spoke  Turkish,  but  my 
Arabic  was  far  more  necessary  and  service- 
able in  general  intercourse. 

These  experiences  impressed  it  upon  me 
most  vividly  that  Aleppo  is  thoroughly  an 
Arabic-speaking  city,  and  that  the  work 
should  be  in  organic  connection  with  the 
evangelical  work  in  other  parts  of  Syria. 
The  Turkish  congregation  is  a  natural 
member  of  the  Cilicia  Union  and  should 
affiliate  with  the  churches  of  the  north, 
but  the  Arabic  evangelical  work  belongs 
with  the  organizations  under  the  care  of 
our  mission  in  Syria.  For  four  years  this 
arrangement  was  continued  and  we  main- 
tained    Arabic     services     with     a     Syrian 

[ci] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

preacher  and  a  day  school  with  a  Syrian 
teacher.  Each  year  two  missionary  visits 
were  made,  the  missionaries  in  Tripoli 
alternating  in  this  duty.  It  was  difficult 
to  carry  on  the  work  at  such  long  range. 
In  1897  a  heavy  cut  in  our  appropriations 
made  it  necessary  to  consider  every  pos- 
sible method  of  retrenchment.  At  the 
same  time  the  English  Presbyterians  were 
opening  a  station  in  Aleppo  for  work 
among  the  Jews,  and  it  seemed  best,  all 
things  considered,  to  ask  our  English 
friends  to  relieve  us  of  this  responsibility, 
and  assume  the  care  of  the  work  for  the 
Gentiles  as  well  as  for  the  Jews  through  the 
medium  of  Arabic,  in  Aleppo.  Thus  our 
official  connection  with  the  work  in  Aleppo 
ceased,  but  it  has  never  passed  from  our 
minds  that  some  day  an  Arabic-speaking 
evangelical  church  in  Aleppo  should  become 
a  member  of  our  Syrian  Presbyterian  or- 
ganization. Now  that  the  railroad  has 
brought  Aleppo  within  six  hours'  ride  from 

Hamath,  the  problem  has  assumed  a  new 

[621 


ALEPPO 


form   and  we   may  hope  for  a  renewal  of 
friendly    affiliation. 

Such  a  city  as  Aleppo,  with  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  and 
increasing  commercial  importance,  demands 
much  of  the  missionary  organizations.  The 
famous  Constantinople  Bagdad  railway  of 
the  Germans  passes  through  Aleppo.  A 
branch  line  connects  with  the  Mediter- 
ranean at  Alexandretta.  The  French  sys- 
tem from  Beirut  ends  in  Aleppo,  giving 
direct  connection  with  Damascus,  Beirut 
and  Tripoli.  The  work  of  the  American 
Board,  being  at  present  in  Turkish,  reaches 
only  a  small  part  of  the  population.  The 
English  mission  places  its  emphasis  on 
work  for  the  Jews  and  has  ample  scope 
in  that  part  of  the  population.  There 
remains  the  vast  bulk  of  the  whole  popu- 
lation, with  Arabic  as  their  language,  look- 
ing naturally  to  the  American  mission  in 
Syria  for  help  and  guidance.  The  large 
Moslem  population  and  the  numerous  nom- 
inal  Christians  deserve  the  attention  of  a 

[  63  ] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN   SYRIA 

resident  American  missionary  to  organize 
aggressive  and  effective  work.  Shall  we 
wait  longer  before  pressing  on  in  this 
direction? 

Aleppo  has  been  chosen  by  the  Interna- 
tional Committee  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  as  a  place 
where  a  building  should  be  erected  and  a 
permanent  secretary  established.  Should 
we  fall  behind  the  Y.M.C.A.?  Whenever 
the  American  Presbyterian  Church  says 
the  word  and  furnishes  the  men  and  the 
money,  I  am  sure  the  Syrian  mission  will 
be  ready  to  send  one  of  its  members  for- 
ward to  this  new  frontier.  God  forbid 
that  another  quarter  century  should  pass 
before   this   is   fulfilled. 


[64] 


Chapter  VI 

NEW    STATIONS   AND    BUILDINGS 

IT  has  been  my  privilege  to  watch  from 
the  beginning  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  three  prosperous  churches  in  the 
territory  of  Tripoli  Presbytery.  Each  one 
has  been  marked  by  peculiarities  that 
render  it  especially  interesting.  In  the 
early  years  of  my  acquaintance  with  the 
church  in  Horns,  I  heard  frequently  of 
evangelistic  visits  on  the  part  of  the  young 
men  of  the  church  to  various  villages  in 
the  plain  east  of  the  city  —  especially  to 
one  large  village  about  two  miles  southeast 
of  us.  The  people  of  this  village  are  of  the 
Syrian  or  Jacobite  church,  and  have  no 
little  familiarity  with  the  Bible  and  a 
really  religious  disposition.  Our  young 
men  from  Horns  used  to  go  out  in  small 
bands  of  two  or  more,   with  their  gospels 

[Go] 


SILVER   CHIMES   IN   SYRIA 

and  hymn  books  in  their  pockets.  If  they 
met  a  friendly  reception,  they  would  go 
into  some  house,  where  those  who  were 
interested  would  gather  together  and  a 
simple  service  or  friendly  discussion  would 
be  held.  If  no  one  asked  them  to  come  in, 
they  would  seek  a  place  in  the  public 
square  where  people  were  gathered  to- 
gether, and  sing  a  hymn  or  read  a  passage 
to  open  the  way  for  discussion.  In  such 
cases  there  was  danger  of  an  exhibition  of 
hostility  on  the  part  of  those  who  were 
unfriendly  to  the  evangelical  doctrine.  It 
happened  more  than  once  that  these  faith- 
ful messengers  were  driven  out  of  town, 
pursued  with  stones  as  well  as  reviling. 
Such  treatment,  however,  could  not  sup- 
press the  truth,  and  a  strong  church  has 
grown  up  from  the  seed  thus  sown  amid 
hostile   persecution. 

There  was  a  most  interesting  old  priest 
in  this  town  of  Feiruzeh  who  received  the 
truth    into    his    heart,    but    never    had    the 

courage  to  leave  the  old  church,  though  he 

[66] 


NEW  STATIONS  AND   BUILDINGS 


was  known  to  be  at  heart  an  evangelical 
believer.  He  sought  books  on  the  evan- 
gelical doctrine  and  studied  them  earnestly, 
and  sometimes  attended  the  Protestant 
service,  being  present  at  least  once  on  a 
sacramental  occasion.  He  openly  taught 
his  people  the  folly  of  auricular  confession 
and  priestly  absolution,  saying  to  them: 
"If  you  wish  to  come  to  me  and  tell  me  of 
your  sins,  so  that  I  may  help  you  and 
pray  with  you  to  God  for  forgiveness,  I 
am  at  your  service;  but  I  am  a  sinner  like 
you  and  we  all  have  access  to  one  Saviour. 
I  cannot  forgive  your  sins,  but  will  gladly 
pray  for  you  and  with  you." 

There  had  been  some  inquiry  about  the 
truth  on  the  part  of  a  few  people  in  the 
village  of  El  Yazidiyeh.  In  my  first  visit 
to  the  place  we  pitched  a  tent  on  the  thresh- 
ing floor  outside  the  village.  Much  curi- 
osity in  our  coming  was  shown,  and  some 
opportunity  given  to  strengthen  the  pur- 
pose of  those  who  were  inclined  to  the 
truth.     At  length  a  teacher  was  stationed 

[67] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

there  and  a  simple  school  opened.  One 
or  two  of  the  people  had  joined  the  church 
in  a  neighboring  village,  but  the  sacrament 
had  never  been  administered  in  the  town 
itself.  Several  were  ready  to  make  a 
public  profession  of  their  faith  in  Christ, 
and  it  seemed  that  the  time  had  come  to 
begin  the  full  life  of  the  little  church,  by 
administering  the  sacrament  on  the  spot. 
Plans  were  arranged  for  an  evening  service 
in  the  schoolroom,  and  a  good  company 
was  gathered  in  the  rudely  furnished,  dark 
little  room.  There  was  much  disturbance 
outside  when  it  was  known  what  was  in 
progress.  One  zealous  defender  of  the 
truth  sprang  from  his  seat  and  rushed  out 
in  a  most  militant  manner  to  disperse  the 
noisy  crowd  without.  While  the  little 
service  was  in  progress,  it  was  not  always 
easy  to  keep  the  attention  of  all,  on  ac- 
count of  the  noisy  beating  of  tin  cans  near 
by;  and  some  pebbles  were  thrown  in  at 
the  windows.  The  service  was  completed, 
however,    and    this    was    the    beginning    of 

[68] 


NEW  STATIONS  AND   BUILDINGS 

what  has  proved  to  be  one  of  our  most 
vigorous  churches.  There  is  now  a  simple 
church  building,  which  is  always  well 
filled  at  regular  services,  and  new  members 
are  ready  to  come  forward  at  almost  every 
communion  service. 

The  village  of  Hakoor  is  memorable, 
not  so  much  because  of  hostile  opposition 
to  the  work  as  because  of  the  apparently 
feeble  instrument  used  of  God  for  the 
establishment  of  the  church.  A  blind  man, 
of  keen  and  inquiring  mind,  lived  in  this 
village  and  made  a  precarious  living  by 
keeping  a  little  shop.  He  was  respected 
by  his  neighbors  for  his  integrity  of  char- 
acter, and  trusted  by  the  church  authori- 
ties for  his  fidelity  to  church  duties.  He 
began  to  hear  something  of  the  new  evan- 
gelical doctrine  and  though  ready  to  in- 
vestigate, was  strong  in  his  opposition  and 
slow  to  yield  to  the  new  faith.  When  once 
thoroughly  convinced,  however,  his  very 
honesty    of    nature    made    him    accept    the 

truth  and  declare  hiinxlt'  for  the  Protestant 

[60] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

view.  The  bishop  sent  for  him,  in  order 
to  recall  him  from  his  error.  He  told  the 
bishop  that  he  was  convinced  that  the 
teaching  and  practice  of  the  Greek  Church 
were  not  in  harmony  with  the  gospel,  and 
that  he  had  decided  to  follow  the  teaching 
of  God  rather  than  that  of  men,  but  that 
he  was  ready  to  hear  anything  the  bishop 
had  to  say  to  convince  him  that  he  was 
mistaken.  The  bishop  began  to  read  him 
a  controversial  tract  recently  prepared 
against  the  Protestant  doctrine.  Our  blind 
friend  interrupted  him,  saying:  "I  have 
heard  all  that  and  can  give  you  an  outline 
of  the  whole  argument.  It  does  not  con- 
vince me  and  so,  if  you  have  nothing 
stronger,  it  will  do  no  good."  The  bishop 
then  reviled  him,  comparing  his  course  to 
that  of  Judas  toward  Christ,  and  so  cast 
him  off.  The  blind  man  went  home,  glad 
to  suffer  abuse  for  the  truth.  He  gathered 
around  him  a  group  of  neighbors  who 
studied  the  gospel  under  his  guidance,  and 
a  little  church   has  grown   up   in   that  vil- 


NEW  STATIONS  AND   BUILDINGS 

lage,  to  which  he  ministered  regularly  for 
a  year,  when  no  other  preacher  could  be 
found.  The  little  band  has  been  full  of 
zeal  and  has  raised  the  money  to  build 
a  little  chapel  in  which  they  worship  and 
in   which   their  children   are  taught. 

By  means  which  are  insufficient  in  the 
sight  of  men,  in  spite  of  opposition  from 
those  who  are  hostile  to  the  truth,  God's 
word  continues  to  bear  fruit  and  the  gospel 
light  continues  to  spread  throughout  the 
world. 

The  missionary  is  met,  in  his  periodic 
visitation  of  the  outstations,  with  every 
conceivable  request  and  complaint.  I  am 
often  asked  to  mend  a  clock  or  a  watch. 
I  have  been  appealed  to  to  adjust  a  coffee 
mill  which  did  not  work  right.  Matri- 
monial and  family  difficulties  must  often 
be  arranged.  I  have  told  the  people  that 
there  is  one  complaint  I  am  always  glad 
to  hear,  and  that  is  to  the  effect  that  the 
place  of  worship  is  too  small  for  the  regular 
attendants.     When    I    first    went    to    the 

[71  I 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

village  of  Minyara,  the  services  were  held 
in  a  small  room  about  twenty  by  twenty- 
five  feet.  There  was  room  to  spare, 
though  not  a  great  deal.  In  a  few  years 
it  became  necessary  to  plan  for  enlarge- 
ment. This  was  accomplished  by  securing 
a  piece  of  land  adjacent  to  the  building, 
taking  out  the  end  wall  and  extending  the 
room  so  as  to  increase  its  capacity  about 
two  thirds.  The  growth  of  the  congre- 
gation was  so  rapid  and  steady  that  this 
enlargement  was  not  completed  before  the 
room  was  again  inadequate.  An  appeal 
was  made  to  a  generous  friend  in  St.  Louis, 
and  five  hundred  dollars  were  sent  for  the 
Minyara  chapel.  A  further  piece  of  land 
was  secured,  and  plans  made  for  an  en- 
tirely new  and  larger  building.  The  out- 
line is  rectangular,  and  the  flat  roof  is 
supported  by  three  rows  of  arches,  resting 
on  six  pillars.  This  building  has  been 
ample  for  the  accommodation  of  this 
growing  church  for  many  years,  though  it 
is  often  well  filled  and  would  be  far  from 

[72] 


NEW  STATIONS  AND   BUILDINGS 

sufficient,    were   not   half   the   members   in 
America. 

In  the  city  of  Horns  the  old  church  had 
a  flat  dirt  roof  supported  by  two  heavy 
arches,  which  made  the  room  seem  dark 
and  contracted.  The  regular  congregations 
taxed  the  capacity  of  the  building,  and  the 
roof  timbers  were  showing  signs  of  weak- 
ness which  would  necessitate  an  early 
renewal.  The  pastor  of  the  church  began 
to  work  earnestly  for  a  reconstruction  of 
the  roof,  with  an  enlargement  of  the 
audience  room.  There  was  a  little  vacant 
space  at  one  end  of  the  building  which 
if  it  were  inclosed  would  increase  the  capac- 
ity about  forty  per  cent.  At  the  same 
time  the  heavy  arches  could  be  removed 
and  a  galvanized  iron  roof  placed  over  the 
enlarged  building.  But  this  would  cost  a 
considerable  sum,  and  how  was  that  to  be 
raised?  The  people  thought  they  could  not 
raise  more  than  two  hundred  dollars.  The 
same  friend  in  St.  Louis,  who  had  provided 
for  the  Minyani   chapel,  sent  another  five 

173] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

hundred  dollars,  and  we  made  this  prop- 
osition to  the  church:  "After  the  church 
spends  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  the 
mission  will  put  in  five  hundred,  but  if 
any  more  is  needed  the  church  must  pro- 
vide it."  They  went  to  work  with  a  will. 
When  the  dirt  from  the  old  roof  was  to  be 
carried  out  they  organized  a  regular  church 
bee.  All  the  men  of  the  church  came 
together,  the  pastor,  the  doctor,  the  teacher, 
the  merchant,  each  one  taking  one  of  the 
rough  baskets  in  which  they  carry  dirt, 
and  all  together  got  the  whole  pile  removed 
at  a  considerable  saving  to  the  building 
fund.  Before  the  work  was  finished  the 
church  had  raised  and  expended  quite  as 
much  money  as  they  had  received  from 
outside.  This  enlarged  place  of  worship 
has  again  become  too  small,  and  its  further 
enlargement  is  a  pressing  problem. 


[74] 


IIADKTH   SIMMEU    IIOMM 


AMI'   MAROON,  THE   HADETH   CARPENTER 


Chapter  VII 
CAMPING   LIFE 

AT  the  close  of  a  tour  one  spring,  Mrs. 
Nelson  and  I  were  compelled  to 
reach  home  on  a  fixed  date,  because  of  the 
expected  arrival  of  guests.  The  weather 
had  been  unpropitious  and  the  rains  heavy 
for  the  season  of  the  year.  At  one  point 
we  had  been  shut  in  for  several  days  by  a 
snowstorm,  and  all  the  rivers  were  unusu- 
ally high.  We  had  a  broad  plain  to  cross, 
intersected  by  three  rivers  which  must  be 
forded.  The  rain  had  been  persistent,  but 
ceased  on  the  day  we  were  obliged  to  start 
for  home.  We  reached  the  first  river  after 
about  an  hour's  ride,  and  crossed  it  suc- 
cessfully, the  water  coming  near  to  the 
girths  of  the  saddles.  The  second  river 
was  reached  and  crossed  without  serious 
difficulty,  but  from  there  onward  the  entire 

plain   seemed   to   be   under   water,   and   our 

[  7.". ! 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

horses  splashed  along  through  water  and 
mud  without  interruption.  Toward  sun- 
down we  neared  the  last  stream,  and  con- 
gratulated ourselves  that  just  beyond  it  we 
should  find  the  carriage  road  and  a  dry 
place  for  the  night.  Our  road  lay  through 
a  wretched  little  Nusairiyeh  village,  just 
before  reaching  the  river,  and  as  we  passed 
the  houses  we  were  hailed  by  many  voices 
assuring  us  that  the  river  could  not  be 
forded  with  safety.  I  did  not  believe  this 
at  first,  thinking  it  merely  a  ruse  to  compel 
us  to  spend  the  night  in  their  village.  Such 
an  event  would  be  more  or  less  profitable 
to  the  people  who  would  provide  our  ne- 
cessities for  a  consideration,  even  if  there 
was  no  thought  of  robbery,  which  was  quite 
possible  also.  We  waited  for  our  mule- 
teers, as  they  were  familiar  with  the  stream 
and  would  be  able  to  decide  whether  we 
could  cross  or  not.  Their  verdict  agreed 
with  the  statement  of  the  villagers  and  so 
we  were  obliged  to  negotiate  for  a  lodging 
place. 

[76] 


CAMPING   LIFE 


After  some  parley  we  were  allowed  to 
stop  in  the  sheik's  public  room.  There  was 
not  a  dry  spot  about  the  town,  but  by 
riding  up  close  to  the  door,  we  were  able  to 
dismount  on  a  large  log,  and  then  jump 
across  a  mud  puddle  to  the  doorsill,  and  so 
enter  the  room  assigned  to  us.  It  would  be 
hard  to  make  anyone  who  has  not  seen  such 
houses  realize  what  this  room  was  like.  It 
was  about  twenty  feet  square,  with  one 
door  and  no  window.  The  lack  of  this 
latter  was  partly  supplied  by  the  fact  that 
the  wall  of  the  house  had  tumbled  in  at  one 
corner,  leaving  a  ragged  hole  through  which 
light  and  air  entered  freely.  The  floor  was 
of  dirt  and  at  two  levels.  One  half,  which 
was  used  to  accommodate  people,  was 
reached  by  a  high  step  and  was  compara- 
tively dry.  In  the  middle  of  this  higher 
floor  was  a  smoldering  wood  fire,  from  which 
the  Miioke  had  colored  the  roof  timbers  a 
shiny  black.  The  lowrer  half  of  the  floor 
was  on  a  level  with  the  ground  outside  or 

even    a    little    lower,    and     was    decidedly 

[77] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

muddy.  This  section  was  for  the  accom- 
modation of  horses  and  cattle.  When  our 
party  was  all  inside,  so  that  we  could  take 
a  census,  we  found  that  the  occupants  of 
the  room  for  the  night  were  to  be,  besides 
myself  and  my  wife,  the  three  muleteers,  a 
cook  and  a  Syrian  maid  accompanying  us 
to  the  city.  We  were  in  the  higher  part  of 
the  room.  In  the  other  part  were  two 
horses,  four  mules,  a  goat  and  a  calf. 
These  were  the  visible  animals,  and  anyone 
who  has  traveled  under  similar  conditions 
will  appreciate  what  is  meant  when  I  say 
there  were  myriads  of  other  creatures 
which  made  themselves  known  through 
other    senses    than    sight. 

The  sheik  was  seated  by  the  fire,  warm- 
ing himself,  and  gave  us  a  scant  welcome. 
We  took  such  a  supper  as  we  were  able  to 
provide  in  the  circumstances,  and  prepared 
to  be  as  comfortable  as  possible  for  the 
night.  One  of  the  men  had  been  suffering 
from  malaria  and  so  I  prepared  for  him, 
and  others  in  the  party,  a  dose  of  quinine, 


CAMPING  LIFE 


after  the  fatigue  and  exposure  of  the  day. 
The  sheik  immediately  asked  what  it  was, 
and    desired    a    dose    for    himself    and    the 
other  men  present.     It  was  the  same  prin- 
ciple  as    that    which    makes   bargain    sales 
attractive.     Something    is    going    cheap    or 
gratis,   and  so  I   must  have  it,   whether  I 
need  it  or  not.     Doses  were  given  out  to  all 
who  wished  for  it,  for  a  few  grains  of  qui- 
nine seldom  go  amiss  in  this  country.     Con- 
versation  was  not  very  lively,   about  that 
smoky  fire,  as  we  were  tired  and  there  were 
not  many  topics  of  common  interest.     At 
length  our  cook  thought  he  would  facilitate 
matters  a  little.      He  had  lived   with  for- 
eigners long  enough  to  know  the  advantage 
of  appealing  to  the  gallantry  of  men  toward 
the  ladies,  so  he  said  in  his  most  ingratiat- 
ing tone  to  the  sheik,   "The  lady  is  tired 
and  would  like  to  go  to  sleep."     "Well,  let 
her  do  so,  there  is  no  objection."     With  a 
scarcely  restrained  chuckle,   the  cook  sub- 
sided   for    a    time    and    then    tried    again, 
saying  this  time,  "The  Effendi  (gentleman) 

[79] 


SILVER   CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

is  tired  and  would  be  much  obliged  if  you 
would  leave  so  that  he  may  sleep."  This 
was  a  different  proposition  and  seemed  to 
meet  something  of  a  response.  Shortly,  one 
of  those  present  got  up  and  went  over  into 
the  corner  of  the  room  where  he  spread  out 
his  cloak  and  proceeded  to  his  Moslem 
devotions.  When  he  was  through,  another 
followed  him  with  equal  deliberation,  and 
we  began  to  doubt  whether  we  should  sleep 
before  morning.  At  length  the  last  one 
withdrew  and  we  were  left  to  ourselves, 
including  the  attendants  and  animals  men- 
tioned before.  We  spread  our  camp  bed- 
steads in  the  driest  part  of  the  room  and 
made  ready  to  sleep.  It  was  not  long, 
however,  before  the  rain  began  to  fall,  and 
very  soon  the  roof  began  to  leak  over 
our  heads.  We  spread  rubber  coats  over 
ourselves  and  raised  our  umbrellas  over  our 
heads  and  tried  to  see  the  humor  of  the 
situation.  At  early  dawn  we  were  up  and 
packed  our  goods  for  a  new  start.  The 
river  had  fallen  sufficiently  in  the  night  to 

[80] 


CAMPING  LIFE 


permit  our  crossing,  though  with  some 
difficulty.  On  the  farther  bank  we  found 
a  party  of  people  waiting  until  the  stream 
should  subside  sufficiently  to  allow  them  to 
cross  with  their  small  donkeys. 

Every  summer  it  is  necessary  to  make  a 
change  from  the  heat  of  the  plain  to  the 
more  bracing  air  of  the  mountains.  This 
is  not  a  vacation,  for  the  missionary's  work 
goes  on  with  little  variation,  wherever  he 
may  be,  but  it  involves  a  change  of  base 
and  the  setting  up  of  a  simple  household  in 
different  surroundings.  In  those  earlier 
years  the  mountain  life  was  exceedingly 
simple  and  the  means  of  transportation 
most  crude.  The  village  of  Hadeth  is 
accessible  from  Tripoli  and  in  a  beautiful 
situation,  directly  opposite  the  famous 
grove  of  Cedars  of  Lebanon.  It  lies  on  a 
ridge  in  the  mountains  at  an  elevation  of 
some  forty-five  hundred  feet  above  the  sea. 
More  than  one  season  have  we  spent  in  the 
house  of  old  Abu  Maroon,  the  village 
carpenter.     The     house    consisted     of    four 

1811 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN   SYRIA 

large  rooms,  opening  on  a  long,  arched 
porch  which  extended  the  full  length  of  the 
house.  The  floors  were  of  dirt  and  the 
walls  roughly  plastered  with  mud.  We 
rented  three  of  these  rooms,  the  owners 
occupying  the  fourth.  The  partitions  be- 
tween the  rooms  were  made  of  brushwood, 
plastered  on  both  sides  with  mud.  These 
partitions  extended  only  about  three  fourths 
of  the  way  to  the  roof,  leaving  ample  space 
above  for  ventilation  and  conversation. 
The  uncovered  twigs  and  small  branches 
at  the  top  of  these  partitions  made  an 
attractive,  artistic  feature,  very  pleasing 
to  many  of  our  visitors.  One  of  the  regular 
household  duties  in  those  mountain  houses 
was  the  renewing  of  the  mud  on  the  floors. 
Every  week  or  two  it  was  necessary  to 
remove  everything  from  the  rooms,  spread 
a  fresh  coat  of  watery  mud  over  the  floor, 
and  polish  it  off  with  a  smooth,  round 
stone  kept  for  the  purpose.  We  could 
then  anticipate  reasonable  freedom  from 
fleas  for  another  period. 

[82] 


CAMPING   LIFE 


The  only  way  to  reach  a  summer  resort 
was  on  horseback,  over  very  rough  bridle 
paths.  All  furniture  had  to  be  trans- 
ported by  mules  in  like  manner;  folding 
chairs  and  tables,  camping  utensils  and 
necessary  bedding  had  to  be  made  into 
suitable  bundles;  indispensable  supplies  had 
to  be  provided  and  mules  secured  to  carry 
all  to  the  mountains.  It  was  a  long,  hard 
day's  ride  and  the  party  was  sure  to  be 
pretty  tired  the  first  night  of  arrival,  but 
the  renewed  vigor  in  the  fresh  mountain 
air  gave  new  strength  for  the  resumption 
of  life  on  the  hotter  plain  in  the  fall  and  it 
was  well  worth  all  the  trouble  it  cost. 

When  it  is  possible  to  secure  a  week  or 
two  for  real  rest,  there  is  no  more  delight- 
ful way  to  accomplish  the  purpose  than  to 
make  a  camp  in  the  cedar  grove.  This 
clump  of  trees  lies  in  a  basin  in  the  higher 
mountains,  about  six  thousand  feet  above 
sea  level.  On  the  east  and  north,  and 
somewhat  on  the  south,  the  mountains  rise 
about    this    great    amphitheater    to    about 

[83] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

four  thousand  feet  more,  being  the  highest 

mountains     anywhere     in     Syria.      Large 

patches   of   snow   lie   perpetually   on   these 

highest  mountains,  but  the  slopes  are  bare, 

having  no  trees  nor  shrubs  beyond  clumps 

of    thorns    and    scanty    grass    where    the 

melting      snows      afford      some      moisture. 

Flocks    of   goats    range   over   these   barren 

slopes,    gaining    a    scanty    subsistence.     In 

the  days  of  Solomon  and   Hiram  of  Tyre 

these    mountains    were    probably    covered 

with  cedar  forests.      Nowadays   only  small 

sections  are  so  covered,  though  on  many  of 

the  bare  heights  the  people  still  dig  up  the 

old  stumps  of  great  cedar  trees,  which  they 

sell  for  fuel  in  the  cities. 

On   the   entire   mountain   range   there  is 

left  no  single  grove  of  really  ancient  cedars, 

except   the   one   of   which   I   have   spoken, 

known   among   the  people  as   the   "Cedars 

of  the  Lord"  or  simply  as  "The  Cedars." 

It  is  impossible  to  speak  with  certainty  of 

the  age  of  these  great  trees,  but  from  what 

we  know  of  their  slow  growth  and  the  size 

[84] 


CAMPING   LIFE 


of  many  of  the  trunks,  it  is  safe  to  place 
their  age  in  the  thousands  of  years.  There 
are  more  than  four  hundred  trees  in  the 
grove  and  their  reputed  sanctity  has  pro- 
tected them  from  destruction.  Some  forty 
years  ago  one  of  the  governors  of  Mount 
Lebanon  had  a  wall  built  inclosing  the 
grove  and  a  guardian  appointed.  This 
affords  protection  from  goats,  and  now  a 
number  of  small  trees  are  growing  up  to 
perpetuate  the  grove  in  generations  to 
come.  If  proper  steps  were  taken  for  re- 
foresting the  whole  of  Lebanon,  there 
would  be  a  great  improvement  in  many 
ways,  and  the  agricultural  wealth  of  the 
country  would  be  greatly  increased. 

To  establish  a  camp  among  these  grand 
old  trees  is  a  most  delightful  way  to  spend 
a  short  vacation.  The  silence  of  the  nights 
under  the  spreading  branches;  the  fra- 
grance of  the  foliage;  the  soothing  sigh  of 
the  breeze  among  the  tree  tops;  the  beauti- 
ful and  ever-changing  colors  on  the  higher 
mountain  slopes;    the  beautiful  outlook  to 

[85] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

the  west  over  the  narrow  valley  out  to  the 
distant  Mediterranean;  all  these  influences 
tend  to  quiet  the  tired  nerves,  refresh  the 
exhausted  brain  and  draw  the  discouraged 
heart  back  to  quiet  and  rest  in  the  hand  of 
the  Master. 


[86] 


Chapter  VIII 
PERSECUTION 

LATE  one  afternoon  as  I  was  sitting  in 
my  study,  the  doorbell  rang  and  a 
young  man  from  Hamath  entered,  show- 
ing every  token  of  great  exeitement  and 
fatigue.  He  had  just  arrived  on  the  dili- 
gence from  Horns.  As  soon  as  he  was 
sufficiently  composed  to  give  me  a  clear 
story,  he  told  me  that  the  preacher  in 
Hamath  had  been  suddenly  arrested  by  the 
local  authorities,  and  after  somewhat  rough 
treatment,  had  been  sent  under  guard  to 
Damascus,  a  journey  of  five  days  on  horse- 
back, as  it  was  before  the  era  of  railroads. 
So  far  as  I  could  learn  from  my  informant, 
the  case  was  one  of  flagrant  persecution, 
with  no  culpable  occasion  behind  it.  The 
first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  quiet  the 
excitement  of  our  friend,  who  had  brought 

[87] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

the  word  himself  rather  than  trust  a  written 
message.  Giving  him  a  chance  to  rest,  I 
made  hasty  arrangements  for  a  night  ride 
to  Beirut.  The  moon  would  rise  about  ten 
o'clock  and  I  arranged  for  two  riding  horses 
to  be  ready  for  us  before  midnight.  We  set 
out  together  through  the  olive  orchards 
under  the  witchery  of  the  moonlight.  It 
would  have  been  a  pleasant  experience 
under  other  circumstances.  The  road  fol- 
lows the  general  line  of  the  seashore,  at 
times  close  to  the  breaking  waves,  and 
again  rising  on  a  rocky  bluff  at  whose  base 
the  blue  sea  keeps  up  an  incessant  murmur. 
In  the  silent  night  the  play  of  advancing 
and  retreating  waves  gives  a  constantly 
varied  effect  of  light  and  sound. 

Before  noon  we  reached  Beirut  and  con- 
sulted with  various  missionary  friends  and 
the  consuls  of  America,  England  and 
Germany,  who  take  an  interest  in  matters 
affecting  the  Protestants  in  Turkey.  It 
was  decided  that  our  Hamath  friend  should 
go  at  once  to  Damascus,   while  I  awaited 

[88] 


PERSECUTION 


word  from  him  whether  my  presence  was 
needed.  The  following  day  a  telegram 
agreed  upon  between  us  brought  the  brief 
message,  "Better  come."  The  old  French 
diligence  in  those  days  made  the  trip 
across  Mount  Lebanon  to  Damascus  in  some- 
thing over  thirteen  hours,  a  rather  fatiguing 
day.  On  the  evening  of  my  arrival  we  had 
a  conference  of  the  immediate  circle  of 
friends,  and  the  arrested  man  himself  was 
among  us.  This  was  a  thoroughly  charac- 
teristic incident,  under  Turkish  administra- 
tion, and  so  merits  a  word  of  explanation. 
During  the  journey  from  Hamath  to  Damas- 
cus, friendly  relations  had  been  established 
between  the  prisoner  and  his  escort,  so  that 
the  latter  were  willing  to  accommodate 
their  prisoner  in  any  reasonable  measure. 
It  was  agreed  upon  that  they  should  not 
announce  their  arrival  nor  report  to  their 
superiors  for  a  few  days  until  the  prisoner 
secured  a  little  rest  and  made  arrangements 
for  his  defense.  Hence  I  was  informed 
by   our   friend   himself   that   he    would  not 

[89] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

arrive  in  Damascus  "officially"  for  several 
days. 

It  is  needless  to  go  into  all  the  details  of 
this  event  but  the  animating  cause  of  the 
incident  has  its  humorous  as  well  as  its 
enlightening  side.  Some  time  before,  our 
friend  had  wished  to  compliment  the  man 
who  was  at  the  time  governor  of  Hamath. 
Being  of  a  literary  turn  he  wrote  a  flatter- 
ing poem  to  present  on  a  suitable  occasion. 
Indiscreetly  he  worked  into  his  poem  serious 
reflections  on  another  man  who  was  the 
governor's  enemy  and  who  held  a  similar 
post  at  a  distance.  The  governor  was  so 
pleased  that  the  poem  was  printed  for 
distribution  and  a  copy  reached  the  hands 
of  the  other  man,  who  was  naturally  not 
pleased  with  it.  In  the  subsequent  shifting 
of  appointments  this  very  man  became 
governor  of  Hamath,  and  found  a  way  to 
vent  his  spite  at  the  poet. 

When  looked  at  from  a  safe  perspective, 
most  of  the  so-called  persecution  in  Syria 
has  a  predominant  touch  of  humor  in   it. 

I  90  I 


PERSECUTION 


The  most  convenient  and  suitable  place  for 
Tripoli  missionary  families  to  spend  their 
summers  is  in  the  village  of  Hadeth  close 
to  the  summer  seat  of  the  Maronite  patri- 
arch. The  whole  valley  is  considered  sa- 
cred, and  hence  strongly  guarded  against 
the  pollution  of  any  heretical  evangelical 
influences.  For  a  number  of  years  the 
ecclesiastics  tried,  in  every  way  they  could 
devise,  to  make  us  trouble  and  to  prevent 
our  securing  houses  in  the  town,  or  finding 
any  comfort  when  we  did  so.  During  one 
summer  they  were  especially  aggressive  and 
seemed  determined  to  be  rid  of  us.  The 
priests  warned  everyone  against  serving  us 
in  any  way,  and  against  selling  us  anything 
to  eat.  For  a  few  days  our  servant  had  to 
go  to  a  neighboring  town  to  buy  supplies. 
The  woman  who  had  been  doing  our  wash- 
ing sent  word  she  could  not  come.  A 
special  conclave  assembled  and  summoned 
our  landlord,  threat  cuing  all  sorts  of  ven- 
geance  if   he   did    not   turn   us   out.     They 

said   that  a   mob   would   destroy   his  house 

[91] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

over  our  heads.  The  poor  old  man  came 
to  me  in  great  fear,  knowing  the  unscrupu- 
lousness  of  his  opponents,  and  thinking 
they  might  get  up  some  false  accusation 
against  him  in  the  government  and  cast 
him  into  prison  or  subject  him  to  needless 
loss  or  expense.  I  assured  him  they  would 
not  dare  touch  us  or  attack  his  property 
and  that  the  whole  plan  was  to  frighten  us 
into  leaving  town,  if  possible.  I  told  him 
that  we  were  to  leave  on  a  certain  day  in 
October.  When  the  hostile  party  learned 
this,  they  drew  up  a  pledge  that  the  Ameri- 
cans were  to  be  expelled  from  town  on  the 
day  I  had  indicated,  under  a  forfeit  of 
fifty  pounds  from  the  landlord  to  the  local 
church.  He  was  also  required  to  go  to  the 
church  and  apologize  publicly  to  the  people, 
kiss  the  floor  of  the  church  in  front  of  the 
picture  of  the  Virgin,  and  pay  a  pound  into 
the  treasury.  He  was  then  accepted  as  in 
good  and  regular  standing,  and  all  waited 
for    the    appointed    day.     Unfortunately    I 

did  not  know  of  this  until  it  was  too  late 

[92] 


PERSECUTION 


to  change  our  plans.  On  the  clay  ap- 
pointed we  left  town  with  our  household 
goods  and  as  we  rode  away  we  heard  the 
church  bells  ringing  out  a  peal  of  rejoicing 
to  celebrate  the  cleansing  of  the  town. 
Times  have  changed  now,  and  the  same 
priest  who  led  in  the  opposition  then  will 
call  upon  us  and  crack  jokes  about  the 
times   gone   by. 


[93] 


Chapter  IX 

EMIGRATION 

THE  period  of  my  life  in  Syria  has 
witnessed  the  rapid  development 
of  emigration.  In  former  days  there  was 
very  little  travel  among  the  people,  the 
marriage  of  a  girl  to  a  man  in  a  neighboring 
village  being  a  notable  and  rather  rare 
occurrence.  It  was  no  unusual  thing  for  a 
person  to  spend  his  whole  life  without  ever 
going  so  much  as  ten  miles  from  his  birth- 
place. I  was  entertained  for  supper  one 
night  at  the  home  of  a  wealthy  Moslem  in 
Horns.  The  old  father  of  our  host  was 
present  and  I  entered  into  conversation 
with  him  as  to  the  experiences  of  his  long 
life.  He  told  me  that  he  had  taken  four 
wives,  as  permitted  by  Moslem  law.  He 
had  twenty  sons  who  had  all  grown  up  and 

married  in  Horns.     He  said  that  his  grand- 

[94] 


EMIGRATION 


sons  numbered  about  a  hundred,  all  of 
whom  he  knew  by  face,  though  he  might 
not  be  able  to  fit  the  right  name  to  each, 
at  first  sight.  Knowing  him  to  be  quite 
wealthy,  I  asked  whether  he  had  traveled 
much.  My  first  question  was  whether  he 
had  been  to  the  seashore,  some  sixty-five 
miles  away  at  Tripoli.  He  had  never  seen 
the  sea.  ''Have  you  been  to  Damascus?" 
This  would  appeal  more  to  a  devout 
Moslem,  since  the  sea  is  always  associated 
more  or  less  with  the  unholy  foreigners  of 
Christian  faith,  while  Damascus  is  an 
ancient  seat  of  Moslem  power  and  glory. 
"No,  I  have  never  seen  Damascus,"  was 
his  answer.  "Well,  surely  you  have  been 
to  Hamath?"  This  is  only  thirty  miles 
distant.  "No,"  he  said,  "I  never  went  to 
Hamath."  "Have  you  passed  your  whole 
life  right  here  in  Horns?"  "Once,"  he 
said,  "I  made  a  journey  out  among  the 
Arabs  of  the  desert,  to  buy  sheep."  That 
was  the  extent  of  traveling  by  an  intelli- 
gent, well-to-do  Moslem  of  the  old  school. 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

Some  thirty  or  forty  years  ago  a  change 
began  among  the  people  and  a  few  enter- 
prising men  sought  more  favorable  oppor- 
tunities for  making  a  living  in  foreign  lands. 
Many  of  them  were  successful  and  encour- 
aged others  to  follow  them,  until  now  the 
most  profitable  business  of  the  steamships 
calling  at  Syrian  ports  is  the  carrying  of 
emigrants  back  and  forth.  The  weekly 
exit  is  numbered  by  the  hundreds,  and  large 
numbers  also  return  from  time  to  time. 
Few  of  those  who  return  to  Syria  remain 
for  any  length  of  time,  for,  having  once 
tasted  the  liberty  and  experienced  the  op- 
portunities of  life  in  western  lands,  they  are 
no  longer  content  to  fall  back  into  the  old, 
slow,  unprofitable  methods  of  the  Orient. 
A  notable  change  has  also  come  over  the 
character  of  the  emigration  in  another 
respect.  At  first  it  was  only  the  more 
enterprising,  vigorous  young  men  who  went 
abroad  to  seek  their  fortunes.  Now  whole 
families    go    together.     Women    and    girls 

emigrate  as  freely  as  men.     At  first  it  was 

I  98  1 


EMIGRATION 


only  Christians  who  sought  to  improve 
their  condition  in  Christian  lands;  now 
Moslems  and  Nusairiyeh  go  as  freely  as  do 
the  Christians. 

At  first  this  emigration  was  a  blind  flight 
from  poverty  and  oppressive  conditions  at 
home,  with  little  understanding  of  the 
places  to  which  the  emigrants  were  going. 
They  placed  themselves  literally  in  the 
hands  of  the  steamship  agents  in  Marseilles. 
Taking  passage  from  Syria  to  Marseilles, 
they  were  shipped  on  from  there  in  bunches, 
according  to  the  advantage  of  the  agent 
into  whose  hands  they  fell.  They  might 
be  sent  to  Argentine,  while  the  friends  to 
whom  they  were  going  were  in  Massachu- 
setts. They  might  be  sent  to  Sierra  Leone 
or  to  Capetown,  but  it  was  all  America  in 
their  minds.  The  simple  idea  of  geography 
in  those  days  seemed  to  divide  the  world 
into  two  parts,  Syria  and  America.  The 
common  people  know  far  better  now,  for 
they  discuss  intelligently  the  conditions  of 
life  and  business  in  the  various  parts  of  the 

[97] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

world.  Syrians  are  to  be  found  in  every 
one  of  the  United  States,  from  Maine  to 
Florida,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Paci- 
fic. They  are  in  Alaska,  the  Sandwich 
Islands  and  the  Philippines.  They  are  in 
every  country  of  Central  and  South  Amer- 
ica, in  the  West  Indies  and  in  all  parts  of 
Africa.  In  many  places  they  have  bought 
property  and  made  permanent  business 
arrangements. 

In  the  early  years  there  were  many  indi- 
cations of  their  lack  of  experience  in  money 
matters  and  general  business  methods. 
One  man  in  Brazil  had  accumulated  quite 
a  sum  of  money  and  wished  to  return  home. 
He  did  not  understand  the  simplicity  of 
taking  a  draft  on  London  from  the  bank, 
and  was  averse  to  parting  with  good  gold 
for  a  mere  slip  of  paper.  He  changed  all 
his  money  into  English  sovereigns  and  put 
the  whole  nine  hundred  into  a  belt,  which 
he  secured  around  his  body  under  his 
clothes.     He     did     not     dare     remove     his 

treasure  day  or  night   during  the  weeks  of 

[98] 


IMMIGRATION 


journey,  enduring  the  weight  and  pressure 
until  he  reached  home.  He  was  then  taken 
sick  and  nearly  lost  his  life  from  kidney 
trouble  induced  by  this  folly. 

Another  young  man  in  Mexico  started 
home  by  way  of  New  York.  He  knew  that 
English  and  French  gold  are  current  in 
Syria,  and  was  sure  that  American  gold 
was  every  bit  as  good.  So  he  exchanged 
his  money  for  American  gold  coin.  It 
came  to  my  attention  through  a  man  who 
came  to  me  with  a  twenty-dollar  gold  piece, 
and  asked  what  it  was  worth.  When  I 
told  him  its  real  value,  he  showed  such 
surprise  as  to  arouse  my  curiosity.  It 
appeared  that  this  coin,  with  one  like  it, 
had  been  given  as  betrothal  token  for  his 
daughter.  Subsequently  the  engagement 
was  broken  by  the  young  man  and  so,  in 
accordance  with  oriental  custom,  the  token 
was  forfeited.  The  father,  wishing  to 
realize  on  the  coin,  took  it  to  a  local  gold- 
smith who  pretended  to  examine  it  care- 
fully and    then  offered    three  dollars  for  it. 

[99] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

The  father  was  disappointed  at  this  ap- 
praisal and  indignant  that  his  daughter 
should  have  been  rated  so  low.  The  reac- 
tion, when  he  found  the  coin  to  be  worth 
nearly  seven  times  as  much  as  he  had  been 
informed,  was  almost  too  much  for  him. 

One  matter  connected  incidentally  with 
the  emigration  has  been  the  call  for  assist- 
ance in  handling  money  for  those  abroad. 
In  the  earlier  years  there  were  no  adequate 
banking  facilities  outside  of  Beirut  and  so 
the  people  began  to  send  back  money  to 
their  families  through  the  hands  of  friends 
who  were  merchants  living  in  the  various 
seaport  towns.  In  several  cases  unscrupu- 
lous men  took  advantage  of  the  general 
ignorance  in  money  matters  to  secure 
abnormal  profits  to  themselves,  and  in 
more  than  one  instance,  through  fraudulent 
bankruptcy,  cheated  the  people  out  of 
hundreds  of  pounds.  Those  who  were  in 
any  way  connected  with  the  American 
missionaries  began  sending    their  money  to 

us,  and  at  last  we  were    obliged  to  conduct 

[  100  ] 


EMIGRATION 


quite  an  extensive  banking  business.  In 
some  years  drafts  for  several  thousand 
pounds  would  come  to  me  in  sums  ranging 
from  two  or  three  pounds  to  several  hun- 
dred at  a  time.  These  were  to  be  paid  out 
to  various  relatives  or  to  be  held  on  de- 
posit until  the  owners'  return.  On  one 
occasion  I  opened  a  registered  letter  from 
Brazil  and  found  in  it  a  draft  on  London 
for  ten  pounds.  On  reading  the  letter  I 
found  it  to  be  written  by  a  man  I  did  not 
know,  in  behalf  of  another  stranger,  and 
that  the  money  was  to  be  paid  to  an  entire 
stranger  in  a  village  I  had  never  seen.  It 
was  enough  for  the  sender  to  know  that  his 
money  was  in  the  hands  of  an  American 
missionary. 

On  one  occasion  (a  returned  emigrant 
came  to  my  associate  with  a  kerchief  full 
of  silver  and  gold  coins.  He  asked  the 
privilege  of  depositing  this  with  the  mission 
until  he  needed  it.  As  it  was  evidently  a 
considerable  sum,  he  was  advised  to  put  it 

in  the  bank  so  as  to  secure  some  interest, 

[ioi] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

but  he  preferred  to  feel  sure  that  his  money 
was  safe,  even  though  it  earned  nothing. 
Neither  did  he  see  any  necessity  of  waiting 
until  the  money  should  be  counted  and  a 
regular  entry  made  of  it  in  the  books.  It 
was  enough  that  the  missionary  had  charge 
of  it.  This  open  account  remained  with 
us  a  number  of  years  and  sometimes 
amounted  to  two  thousand  dollars. 

A  man  sent  me  from  Venezuela  a  draft 
for  a  hundred  pounds,  charging  me  to  let 
no  one  know  of  it,  but  to  hold  the  money 
until  he  should  come.  After  a  long  inter- 
val I  learned  that  his  wife  was  thinking  of 
going  to  join  him,  since  no  word  had  been 
received.  I  succeeded  in  dissuading  her, 
as  I  knew  he  was  planning  to  come  home 
and  they  might  miss  each  other  in  mid- 
ocean.  The  return  was  delayed,  and  be- 
fore he  arrived  his  funds  in  my  hands 
amounted  to  six  or  seven  hundred  pounds. 

The    volume    of    emigration    is    growing 

every  year  and  is  taking  away  the  strength 

of   the   land,    but    better    banking    facilities 

[  102] 


EMIGRATION 


have  relieved  us  of  the  financial  cares 
formerly  carried.  The  director  of  the  Otto- 
man Bank  in  Tripoli  estimates  the  annual 
amount  of  money  passing  through  this  one 
port  in  drafts  from  Syrians  abroad  as  not 
less  than  seven  hundred  thousand  pounds 
sterling. 


[103] 


Chapter  X 

SYRIAN   ENTERPRISES 

THE  final  aim  of  mission  work  is  the 
development  of  a  self-supporting, 
self-propagating  Christian  community,  and 
hence  the  happiest  experience  of  a 
missionary's  life  is  connected  with  the  first 
independent  undertakings  of  the  people 
whom  he  serves.  In  this  connection  there 
are  two  interesting  incidents  connected  with 
the  life  of  the  evangelical  church  in  Horns. 
There  are  men  still  living  who  remember 
when  the  gates  in  the  old  city  walls  were 
closed  every  night  at  sunset,  and  a  belated 
traveler  had  to  make  himself  as  safe  and 
comfortable  as  he  could  on  the  outside  until 
sunrise  the  next  morning.  When  this  old 
custom  passed  into  disuse,  the  city  gradually 
outgrew    the    old    limits    and    new    sections 

[  KIM 


CO 


=5 


VMMMM 


<*w 


Tr^    -    t 


.*,* 


SYRIAN  ENTERPRISES 


began  to  appear  outside  the  old  walls. 
When  I  first  visited  Horns,  there  was 
already  a  large  settlement  on  the  north 
side  of  the  old  city,  known  as  the  Hamidi- 
yeh  in  honor  of  the  reigning  sovereign 
Abd-ul-Hamid.  In  this  section  of  the  city 
were  a  number  of  evangelicals  and  it  was 
most  desirable  that  there  should  be  regular 
services  in  that  section.  Much  difficulty 
was  found  in  renting  suitable  quarters,  and 
a  change  was  necessary  every  year  or  two. 
At  length  one  of  the  most  prosperous  men 
in  the  church  decided  that  a  permanent 
chapel  must  be  secured.  The  people  in 
that  part  of  the  city  were  poor  and  could 
not  raise  money  to  buy  property.  He 
decided  to  set  aside  a  certain  sum,  and  let 
it  accumulate  in  his  own  business  until  he 
should  have  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  He 
did  so,  and  after  some  years  was  able  to 
purchase  and  remodel  a  house  in  the  Hami- 
diyeh.  That  little  chapel  has  been  in  con- 
stant use  now  for  many  years  for  public 
service  on  the  Sabbath  and  school  during 

[105] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

the  week,  and  is  all  the  result  of  the  gener- 
ous thought  of  this  one  man. 

Early  in  the  present  century  a  zealous 
young  man  became  the  acting  pastor  of  the 
Horns  church.  He  was  constantly  seeking 
for  means  to  strengthen  the  position  of  the 
evangelical  church  in  the  community  and 
was  soon  convinced  of  the  importance  of 
improving  the  schools,  so  as  to  make  them 
more  effective  and  more  attractive.  He 
urged  the  church  forward  in  support  of  his 
plans,  and  raised  the  standard  of  work  in 
the  schools.  He  himself  was  an  indefatiga- 
ble worker  and  inspired  others  with  the 
spirit  of  service.  He  gained  the  confidence 
of  the  man  referred  to  above  and  secured 
his  help  financially  when  needed.  At  length 
it  seemed  to  this  pastor  that  all  their  efforts 
would  be  in  vain  unless  he  could  establish 
a  boarding  school  for  boys.  It  was  not 
possible  for  the  mission  to  help  in  these 
plans  at  that  time,  and  our  earnest  friend 
decided   to   push   ahead   alone.     A   bequest 

was    made    to    the    evangelical    church    in 

I  L06] 


SYRIAN   ENTERPRISES 


Horns  by  one  of  her  members  who  died  in 
Egypt.  This  was  a  nucleus,  and  others 
were  induced  to  contribute  larger  and 
smaller  sums.  A  beginning  was  made  in 
temporary  quarters  in  the  city  itself,  while 
a  fine  site  was  purchased  outside  for  the 
permanent  building.  The  school  was  popu- 
lar from  the  start,  and,  considering  the 
cramped  and  unsuitable  quarters  in  which 
it  was  conducted,  did  admirable  work. 
Syrians  in  Egypt  and  America  responded 
well  to  the  appeal  to  their  patriotism.  A 
plain  but  commodious  building  was  erected 
on  the  new  site  and  the  school  was  moved 
to  its  new  home.  The  school  has  about 
four  or  five  acres  of  land,  lying  higher  than 
any  other  plot~  near  the  city.  This  tract  is 
inclosed  by  a  simple  wall.  Within  is  the 
two-story  stone  school  building,  with  ac- 
commodation for  something  over  a  hundred 
boarders,  and  a  schoolroom  which  might 
accommodate  nearly  twice  that  number. 
The  kitchen  and  dining  room  are  in  a 
simpler  building  adjacent.     Thus  has  been 

[  107  ] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

provided  a  convenient,  healthful  home  for 
the  school,  with  ample  playground  and 
suitable  surroundings. 

A  Christian  community  which  shows  the 
strength  and  ability  to  organize  and  con- 
duct such  enterprises  as  these  has  certainly 
a  degree  of  vitality  which  gives  us  every 
confidence  in  its  growth  and  advance  in  the 
future. 

One  of  the  greatest  misfortunes,  as  it 
appears  to  me,  in  the  situation  of  the  sub- 
ject races  in  Turkey,  is  their  inability  to 
appreciate  the  value  and  meaning  of  the 
word  "loyalty."  I  have  failed  to  find  an 
Arabic  word  in  common  use  which  conveys 
the  fullness  of  what  we  mean  by  that  word 
"loyalty,"  and  it  seems  to  be  because  the 
people  have  had  no  occasion  to  express  the 
idea.  It  is  an  inestimable  loss  to  a  people 
to  live  in  such  conditions,  for  there  is  an 
inevitable  reaction  upon  character  and  a 
blighting  effect  on  all  the  relations  of  life. 
This  condition  of  things  has  grown  rapidly 
in  recent  years,  and  most  evidently  during 

[108] 


SYRIAN    ENTERPRISES 


the  reverses  of  the  Balkan  war.  It  is  an 
everyday  experience,  in  passing  along  the 
street,  to  hear  people  exclaiming  against 
the  oppression  and  injustice  of  Turkish  rule, 
with  the  expression,  "Anything  would  be 
better  than  the  present  condition."  Nor 
are  such  expressions  any  more  frequent 
from  Christians  than  from  Moslems.  A 
member  of  one  of  the  leading  Mohammedan 
families  was  recently  quoted  to  me  as  say- 
ing: "We  want  an  end  of  this  business. 
We  want  the  English  to  come  and  take 
charge  of  us."  One  day  as  a  merchant  was 
taking  a  bag  of  small  coins  from  his  safe  to 
make  a  payment,  he  was  warned  not  to 
accumulate  any  large  amount  of  these  small 
coins,  as  they  would  depreciate  in  value,  if 
anything  serious  should  happen  to  the 
Turkish  Government.  With  a  look  of 
disgust,  he  said,  "I  would  gladly  lose  them 
all  and  the  silver  coins,  too,  to  be  wholly 
rid  of  Turkey,  once  for  all."  On  another 
occasion  a  simple  carriage  driver  expressed 
his  views  in   rough  style   by  saying,   "Sir, 

[109] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

the  Devil  himself  would  be  an  improvement 
on  the  present  state  of  things."  Then 
more  seriously,  he  said,  "We  know  we  are 
not  fitted  for  self-government,  and  what 
we  want  most  of  all  is  England,  or  if  that 
is  impossible,  then  France."  On  a  railroad 
train  there  was  one  other  passenger  in  the 
compartment  with  me.  While  stopping  at 
a  station,  something  occurred  to  excite  my 
companion  to  violent  abuse  of  the  govern- 
ment. When  he  paused  I  said  to  him, 
"Sir,  how  is  it  that  you  speak  so,  although 
you  wear  the  fez?"  He  turned  to  me  and 
spoke  most  earnestly,  but  with  no  trace  of 
excitement,  saying,  'Yes,  I  am  a  Turk, 
and  I  am  a  Mohammedan,  and  neverthe- 
less, I  have  no  words  strong  enough  to 
express  my  contempt  for  the  Turkish 
Government."  All  these  things  are  exceed- 
ingly sad,  for  it  is  an  immeasurable  loss  to 
a  people  if  they  cannot  love  and  respect 
those  whom  they  must  obey. 


[110] 


Chapter  XI 
INTERRUPTIONS 

OUR  life  in  Syria  lias  been,  on 
the  whole,  quiet,  but  it  has  not 
been  without  its  shadows.  There  is  no 
life  without  its  sorrows  and  unexpected 
experiences.  The  comparative  isolation  of 
missionary  life  brings  into  very  close  fellow- 
ship those  who  are  cut  off  from  the  closer 
relationship  to  friends  in  the  homeland. 
One  Sunday  afternoon  in  the  fall  of  1906,  I 
was  standing  in  the  back  of  our  chapel, 
awaiting  the  closing  exercises  of  the  Sunday 
school.  The  telegraph  messenger  appeared 
at  the  door  and  handed  me  a  telegram,  for 
which  I  signed  without  serious  thought. 
When  I  opened  the  paper  and  read  the 
wholly  unexpected  message,  all  strength 
seemed  to  leave  me,  and  I  hastened  to  a 

seat,  lest  I  fall  to  the  floor.     The  message 

tin] 


SILVER   CHIMES   IN  SYRIA 

told  of  the  sudden  death  of  my  brother-in- 
law,  Rev.  W.  K.  Eddy  of  Sidon,  while 
away  from  home  on  a  tour.  We  had  con- 
sidered him  one  of  the  most  vigorous  men 
in  the  mission,  for  whom  years  of  active 
service  might  be  expected,  and  now  in  a 
moment  he  had  been  called  away,  leaving 
his  family  and  his  work  to  others.  It  took 
time  to  realize  the  situation  but  some 
things  had  to  be  done  at  once.  I  called 
my  servant  and  sent  him  to  secure  an 
animal,  as  I  had  to  start  at  once  for  Sidon. 
Arrangements  had  to  be  made  for  my 
absence,  and  the  sad  news  had  to  be  broken 
to  the  Tripoli  circle  of  friends.  By  five 
o'clock  I  was  ready  to  start,  and  I  shall 
never  forget  that  night's  ride.  The  first 
twenty  miles  were  covered  in  the  early 
evening  hours,  on  horseback  over  a  rough, 
stony  road,  while  the  question  kept  ringing 
through  my  mind,  "Why  should  this  be?" 
About  ten  o'clock  I  reached  the  carriage 
road  where  I  could  take  a  more  comfortable 
and   speedy   conveyance.     All   through    the 

[112] 


INTERRUPTIONS 


dark  night,  as  I  jolted  over  the  road,  trying 
to  get  a  little  rest  in  preparation  for  the 
hard  day  before  me,  I  could  not  turn  my 
mind  from  the  many  problems  connected 
with  this  sad  experience.  Who  would  take 
up  the  work  thus  suddenly  dropped? 
What  plan  would  be  made  for  the  family  of 
growing  children?  The  night  was  dark, 
but  the  dawn  was  approaching.  The  way 
seemed  dark,  but  the  Father's  love  had 
brought  us  to  this  point  and  he  would  not 
leave  us  to  walk  alone.  In  the  early  dawn, 
I  reached  Beirut  and  found  the  missionary 
friends  there  ready  to  start  for  Sidon,  and 
so  we  all  went  on  together,  reaching  the 
darkened  home  about  noon.  The  large 
assembly  hall  was  filled  in  the  afternoon  for 
the  funeral  services,  and  a  great  crowd  of 
all  classes  of  people  marched  out  to  the 
cemetery,  where  the  mortal  remains  of  our 
loved  brother  and  fellow  worker  were  laid 
away.  Those  are  precious  spots  where  we 
do  the  last  service  on  earth  for  those  we 
have  loved,   but  they  are  doubly  precious 

[113] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

on  the  mission  field  where  the  distance 
from  the  great  body  of  family  friends  and 
relatives  is  so  deeply  felt.  But  these  occa- 
sions strengthen  the  ties  that  bind  us  to  the 
hearts  and  lives  of  those  among  whom  we 
live  and  whom  we  serve. 

We  had  scarcely  adjusted  ourselves  to 
this  sorrow  when  another  of  the  hard  ex- 
periences of  life  came  upon  us.  The  season 
had  been  one  of  exceptionally  heavy  work 
and  continuous  strain,  which  showed  in  a 
decided  break  in  health.  The  doctors  said 
work  must  be  dropped  at  once  and  the 
winter  be  spent  in  Egypt,  if  a  more  serious 
break  were  to  be  avoided.  It  was  not 
exactly  a  pleasure  excursion  on  which  we 
started  during  the  Christmas  holidays. 
There  was  no  time  to  write  ahead  and  make 
inquiries  or  arrangements,  so  we  set  out  to 
a  strange  land  among  strangers,  in  search 
of  health.  Finding  no  place  which  seemed 
suitable  in  lower  Egypt,  we  decided  to  go 
up  the  river  to  Assiyut,  and  wrote  a  letter 

to  Dr.  Alexander,    president  of  the  United 

[114] 


INTERRUPTIONS 


Presbyterian  College  at  that  place.  We 
had  no  personal  acquaintance  and  no  claim 
upon  him,  but  he  was  a  missionary,  and 
that  was  enough. 

It  was  a  long  ride  and  Egyptian  railroads 
are  nothing  if  not  dusty.  Our  spirits  had 
not  begun  to  rise  yet,  and  we  felt  rather 
tired  and  wholly  disreputable  in  appearance, 
when  we  left  the  train  at  Assiyut,  ready  to 
ask  our  way  to  the  Greek  hotel.  But  be- 
fore we  had  a  chance  to  do  anything,  we 
saw  a  bright,  cheery  face,  bearing  an  evi- 
dent welcome,  and  a  hearty  voice  assuring 
us  that  the  owner  was  Dr.  Alexander  and 
that  he  had  come  to  take  us  in  charge. 
It  was  the  first  encouraging  incident,  and 
lifted  a  weight  from  us  at  once.  As  we 
walked  along  he  told  us  they  had  held  a 
conference  over  our  case,  and,  having  de- 
cided that  we  could  not  be  comfortable  in 
the  hotel,  had  placed  at  our  disposal  a 
rest  room  provided  in  the  hospital  for 
members  of  their  own  mission  or  other 
foreigners    who    needed    rest    and    medical 

[115] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

attention.  A  more  perfect  provision  for 
our  need  could  not  have  been  devised. 
We  enjoyed  the  companionship  of  the  corps 
of  foreign  nurses,  sharing  their  table  and 
home  life.  We  had  the  constant  compan- 
ionship as  well  as  the  professional  services 
of  the  four  medical  missionaries.  Is  it  a 
wonder  that  I  began  to  gain  at  once? 
After  nine  weeks  we  returned  to  our  work, 
made  over  and  with  a  new  lease  of  life,  a 
new  sense  of  the  solidarity  of  Christian 
fellowship,  and  a  new  realization  of  the 
heavenly  Father's  tender  care. 

Such  experiences  as  that  winter  at 
Assiyut  show  how  entirely  denominational 
differences  are  forgotten  on  the  mission 
field.  In  social  intercourse,  in  the  prayer 
circle,  in  discussion  of  mission  problems, 
in  the  church  service,  in  the  pulpit,  there 
was  never  anything  to  remind  us  that  we 
were  only  Presbyterians  while  our  kind 
hosts  were  United  Presbyterians.  It  was 
a  delightful  opportunity  for  the  cultivation 

of   fellowship,   and   for   the   observation   of 

[116] 


INTERRUPTIONS 


other  forms  and  methods  of  mission  work, 
under  conditions  very  different  from  ours 
in  Syria.  The  work  in  Egypt  is  relieved 
from  many  of  the  problems  so  insistent  in 
Turkey.  There  is  no  hostile  government, 
always  suspicious  of  every  move  made  by 
a  foreigner.  There  is  no  such  inefficiency 
in  the  government  as  makes  the  lives  of 
Turkish  subjects  always  insecure  and  travel 
dangerous.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
climatic  conditions  in  Egypt  are  far  more 
trying  than  in  Syria,  as  the  heat  is  ex- 
tremely enervating  for  most  of  the  year. 
These  climatic  conditions  undoubtedly  ac- 
count to  some  extent  for  the  less  virile, 
independent  character  of  the  people.  But 
whatever  the  differences  in  climate,  what- 
ever the  differences  in  the  character  of  the 
people,  whatever  the  differences  in  govern- 
mental relations,  we  came  back  from  Egypt 
more  than  ever  impressed  with  the  fact 
that  the  conflict  is  one,  the  object  aimed  at 
is  one,  and  the  body  of  workers  is  one,  under 
the  direction  of  our  one  Lord  and   Master. 

[117] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

In  1911  there  came  another  break  in 
the  routine  life  of  the  field,  but  with  no 
such  sorrow  in  it  as  in  the  former  incidents. 
The  second  Conference  for  Workers  in 
Moslem  Lands  met  in  Lucknow  in  January 
1911  and  our  mission  chose  me  as  its 
delegate  to  that  conference.  The  journey 
through  the  Suez  Canal  and  down  the  Red 
Sea  and  across  the  Arabian  Sea  to  Bombay 
was  one  of  the  experiences  of  life  never  to 
be  forgotten.  There  were  enough  of  us 
going  on  the  same  journey  to  form  a  little 
group  of  sympathetic  companions  and  we 
had  many  an  opportunity  at  table  and  on 
deck  to  talk  over  the  matters  connected 
with    our    life    work. 

The  contrasts  in  the  streets  of  Bombay 
are  similar  to  those  seen  in  all  the  changing 
Orient,  but  with  characteristic  differences 
calculated  to  catch  the  eye  of  one  accus- 
tomed to  the  nearer  East.  Nowhere  in 
Turkey  do  you  find  such  broad,  mag- 
nificent, paved    thoroughfares    as    those  in 

Bombay,  and  yet,  beside  the  track  of  the 

[118] 


INTERRUPTIONS 


electric  trolley,  you  see  a  crude  cart  jogging 
along  behind  the  humpbacked  bullock. 
On  the  pavements  you  see  elaborately 
dressed  ladies  from  Europe,  or  from  the 
wealthy  Parsee  families,  with  their  Paris 
gowns  and  modern  hats,  and  almost  at 
their  elbows  the  dark-skinned  members  of 
the  sweeper  caste,  clad  in  a  simple  loin 
cloth.  You  step  out  of  the  finely  appointed 
barber  shop  in  your  modern  hotel,  with  its 
polite,  English-speaking  attendant,  to  see 
by  the  roadside  a  group  of  swarthy  In- 
dians, crouching  on  the  ground,  as  one  of 
their  number  shaves  the  crowns  of  their 
heads. 

The  tourist  in  Galilee  in  the  spring  of  the 
year  is  impressed  by  the  variety  and  bril- 
liancy of  color  all  about  him  in  the  wild 
flowers  of  the  fields.  As  we  walked  the 
streets  of  Bombay,  the  same  impression 
was  made  upon  us  by  the  brightness  and 
variety  in  the  headdress  of  the  men.  If 
there  is  any  color  known  to  the  dyers' 
art  not  found  among  the   turbans  of  Bom- 

[119] 


SILVER   CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

bay  it  is  merely  because  no  samples  have 
as  yet  been  sent  there.  Every  shape  as 
well  as  every  shade  is  found,  and  it  would 
almost  seem  as  if  the  excessive  attention 
paid  to  the  head  covering  had  exhausted 
the  energy  of  the  people,  leaving  no  desire 
or  ability  to  devise  any  covering  for  the 
rest  of  the  body.  A  stranger  may  wonder 
also  at  first  why  everyone  seems  to  have 
forgotten  to  wash  his  face.  Those  curious 
blotches  of  varicolored  clay  on  the  fore- 
head are  not  accidental  nor  an  indication 
of  carelessness  to  one's  personal  appearance. 
On  the  contrary,  they  indicate  fidelity  to 
religious  duty  and  reveal  to  the  initiated 
the  special  temple  most  recently  visited  by 
the  devout  worshiper.  For  a  transient 
visitor,  this  variety  and  intricacy  are 
puzzling,  but  to  the  initiated  everything 
has  its  meaning  and  the  varieties  of  head- 
dress tell  the  tale  of  religious  affiliation  and 
caste  gradation. 

Comfortable     train     service     carried     us 
quickly  to  the  north,  giving  us  glimpses  of 

[120] 


INTERRUPTIONS 


Delhi,  the  ancient  Mogul  capital,  with  its 
reminders  of  the  mutiny;  and  Agra  with 
its  matchless  architectural  gem,  the  Taj 
Mahal.  We  reached  Agra  at  the  close  of 
the  day,  and  after  locating  ourselves  at 
the  hotel,  set  out  on  foot  to  have  our  first 
glimpse  of  the  Taj  by  moonlight.  No 
matter  what  one  may  have  read  of  this 
wonderful  building,  no  matter  what  pic- 
tures or  models  one  may  have  seen,  I  have 
yet  to  meet  a  person  who  has  not  been 
most  deeply  impressed  by  the  first  vision 
of  the  reality.  The  approach  through  the 
dark  foliage  of  the  quiet  garden  gives  a 
chance  for  the  impressive  grandeur  of  the 
marble  structure  to  fix  itself  in  the  visitor's 
mind.  By  the  time  he  enters  the  spacious 
archway,  he  has  begun  to  appreciate  the 
perfection  of  the  curves,  the  nobility  of  the 
dimensions,  the  purity  of  the  white  marble 
and  the  graceful  dignity  of  the  whole  com- 
bination. The  beautifully  inlaid  black  let- 
tering from  the  Koran  follows  the  curves 
of  the  lofty  arch  overhead,  adding  a  sense 

[  121  I 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 


of  sacredness  to  the  entrance.  And  yet, 
when  one  is  inside,  he  almost  forgets  the 
impressions  received  without.  In  place  of 
stateliness  and  grandeur,  we  find  here  a 
beauty  of  finish  and  exactness  of  detail 
which  surpass  all  the  more  massive  quali- 
ties of  the  exterior.  The  central  tomb  is 
surrounded  by  a  marble  screen  carved  with 
a  delicacy  that  makes  one  forget  the  marble 
and  think  he  sees  before  him  the  most  per- 
fect and  delicate  lace  veil.  The  pillars 
and  panels  of  the  screen,  the  inner  walls  of 
the  building,  as  well  as  the  sides  of  the 
tomb  itself,  are  decorated  with  the  most 
beautifully  inlaid  work  of  vines  and  wreaths 
of  flowers  represented  in  their  natural 
colors,  in  the  most  delicate  shades  of  pre- 
cious stone.  One  wonders  to  find  such 
exquisite  work  anywhere  and  the  wonder 
increases  when  one  realizes  that  this  is 
not  the  product  of  modern  skill  and  pa- 
tience, but  that  it  has  stood  here,  from  the 
days  of  the  Mogul  Empire,  when  we  con- 
sider that  India  was  a  land  of  barbarians. 

[122] 


INTERRUPTIONS 


And  more  than  this  is  to  follow,  for  this 
wonderful  mausoleum  was  erected  at  fabu- 
lous cost  by  a  Moslem  ruler,  in  memory  of 
his  wife. 

We  were  not  in  India  merely  as  sight- 
seers. After  a  night  ride  on  the  train  we 
reached  Lahore  in  the  early  morning  and 
at  the  station  received  the  hearty  welcome 
of  J.  C.  R.  Ewing,  D.D.,  president  of  For- 
man  Christian  College.  Again  in  northern 
India  we  had  the  loving  handclasp  of  a 
fellow  missionary  and  the  cordial  welcome 
to  a  missionary  home.  The  short  visit 
there  could  give  us  but  a  faint  impression 
of  what  that  college  is  doing  for  the  Punjab 
and  what  a  position  and  influence  the  mis- 
sionaries have  among  the  people  of  every 
class,  whether  Indian  or  British.  Never 
did  I  have  such  a  vivid  impression  of  the 
awful  experiences  of  the  mutiny,  or  the 
wonderful  changes  wrought  by  British  rule 
in  India,  as  when  I  stood  on  some  of  the 
memorable  spots  at  Cawnpore  and  Luck- 
now,  and  reviewed  the  record  of  treachery 

[  128  ] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

and  loyalty,  cowardice  and  bravery,  cruelty 
and  gallantry,  which  were  developed  in 
the  awful  experiences  of  the  Mutiny. 
To-day,  no  matter  what  may  be  the  rest- 
lessness and  uncertainty  of  the  situation, 
India  is  a  united  country,  and  not  a  medley 
of  hostile  principalities  and  warring  king- 
doms. Railroads  cover  the  land  in  every 
direction  with  an  efficient  service.  Perfect 
carriage  roads  make  the  land  a  paradise  for 
motor  cars  and  bicycles.  Military  en- 
campments near  all  the  large  cities  assure 
security  of  life  and  property.  Schools  and 
colleges  are  extending  knowledge  in  every 
direction.  Wealth  is  taking  place  of  pov- 
erty, knowledge  of  ignorance,  light  of  dark- 
ness, and  religion  is  coming  into  its  own  as 
a  real  force  in  human  life  and  no  longer 
as  merely  a  badge  of  faction  or  clan. 

The  gathering  at  Lucknow  was  notable. 
Delegates  of  many  nationalities  gathered 
in  that  hall.  Workers  in  many  lands  and 
in    widely    differing    conditions,    we    came 

together  for  a  common  purpose.     Members 

[124] 


INTERRUPTIONS 


of  many  Christian  denominations,  we 
united  in  the  worship  of  one  Master. 
Differences  were  forgotten  in  a  deeper 
union.  Whatever  allegiance  we  owed  to 
earthly  sovereigns,  we  met  as  children  of 
the  heavenly  King.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  language  of  our  ordinary  service, 
here  we  had  but  one  language  —  that  of 
loving  fellowship.  We  were  members  of 
separate  bands  of  commissioners,  coming 
together  at  the  feet  of  our  Leader  to  ask 
for  fuller  instructions  in  the  pursuit  of  his 
work. 

The  keynote  of  the  Lucknow  Conference 
was  to  win  the  Moslem  world  by  love,  the 
love  of  Christ  incarnate  in  his  messenger. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  hopeful  signs  in  the 
advancement  of  the  kingdom  that  the 
attractive  power  of  love  is  more  prominent 
than  the  overwhelming  power  of  argument. 
It  is  a  great  help  to  the  right  placing  of 
this  emphasis  that  workers  in  many  lands, 
of  many  nations,  of  many  denominations, 
are   drawing   nearer   together   and   working 

[1*5  1 


SILVER   CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

more  in  harmony.  I  returned  from  India, 
rejoicing  in  all  I  had  seen  of  God's  power 
and  blessing  in  that  land,  but  with  a  deeper 
conviction  that  the  work  in  India,  in  China, 
in  Africa,  in  Syria  is  all  one  work,  under 
one  Master. 


[126] 


Chapter  XII 
OUR  SUPPORTERS 

ONE  of  the  brightest  things  in  the 
missionary's  happy  lot  is  the  beauti- 
ful relation  existing  between  those  on  the 
field  and  those  whom  they  represent  in 
the  homeland.  Many  years  ago  we  were 
calling,  one  evening,  upon  our  landlord  in 
Tripoli.  The  eldest  son  had  recently  re- 
turned from  America,  and  in  the  course  of 
conversation  the  father  asked  from  what 
part  of  the  United  States  we  came,  in  order 
to  see  whether  his  son  had  been  in  the 
same  vicinity.  The  son  at  once  replied: 
"I  know  the  name  of  the  place,  but  I  do 
not  know  in  what  state  it  is.  They  come 
from  Private  Funds."  We  could  not  think 
at  first  what  he  meant,  but  then  dis- 
covered that  he  had  found  a  missionary 
report  among  some  old   magazines  thrown 

[127] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

out  from  the  house.  In  this  he  had  seen 
our  names  in  a  list  of  missionaries,  giving 
the  name  of  the  society  by  which  each  was 
supported.  Seeing  "Private  Funds"  op- 
posite our  names,  he  thought  it  must  be 
the  name  of  the  town  from  which  we  came, 
though,  as  he  said,  he  did  not  know  in 
what  state  it  was  located.  A  little  knowl- 
edge is  truly  a  dangerous  thing. 

The  relation  indicated  by  those  words, 
which  has  subsisted  for  twenty-five  years, 
has  been  most  happy.  When  I  was  a 
senior  in  the  seminary  and  had  already 
made  my  application  to  the  Foreign  Board, 
I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  George  D. 
Dayton  of  Minnesota.  He  was  the  son  of 
an  elder  in  my  father's  old  church  in 
Geneva,  only  a  few  years  older  than  I,  but 
already  a  prosperous  business  man  whose 
generosity  in  the  Lord's  work  was  becoming 
well  known.  He  urged  upon  me  the  need 
and  opportunity  in  the  home  mission  field 
of  the  growing  northwest.  I  answered  him, 
explaining  as  fully  as  I  could,  the  reasons 

[1*8] 


OUR   SUTOIHTJtS 


that  had  led  me  to  decide  that  my  life 
should  be  devoted  to  another  field,  realizing 
that  my  answer  would  be  a  disappoint- 
ment to  him  and  might  cause  some  weak- 
ening of  the  ties  of  friendship  already 
strong  between  us. 

The  next  that  I  heard  of  the  subject  was 
that  Mr.  Dayton  had  written  to  the  For- 
eign Board,  assuming  our  support  as  the 
personal  representatives  of  his  family  in 
the  foreign  field.  Thus,  instead  of  weaken- 
ing our  friendship,  my  choice  was  the 
beginning  of  a  closer  and  warmer  relation 
than  ever.  It  has  always  been  recognized 
as  a  family  matter,  and  I  shall  never  for- 
get the  comfort  and  strength  that  came  to 
us  in  one  of  the  early  years  through  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Dayton.  It  was  written 
on  Sunday  afternoon,  and  contained  words 
to  this  effect:  "To-day  was  the  time  ap- 
pointed for  the  annual  offering  for  foreign 
missions  in  our  church.  Before  going  to 
church  I  gathered  the  family  together  and 

talked    to    the   children    about   you    as   our 

[  129 1 


SILVER   CHIMES   IN  SYRIA 

representatives  in  Syria.  Then  we  united 
in  prayer  at  the  family  altar  for  God's 
blessing  on  you.  At  church  I  placed  in 
the  collection  my  check  for  the  amount  I 
have  pledged  to  the  Board  for  your  sup- 
port." Through  letters  and  visits  in  the 
home  when  on  furlough,  this  delightful 
relation  has  grown  more  and  more  precious 
as  the  years  have  passed,  and  it  has  been 
a  pleasure  to  acknowledge  that  we  come 
from  Private  Funds,  which,  we  are  sure,  is 
situated  in  the  State  of  Felicity,  in  the 
United   States    of   Brotherly    Love. 

It  has  been  said  that  a  missionary  fur- 
lough is  an  excellent  thing  if  it  is  not 
needed  too  urgently.  We  have  had  two 
most  thoroughly  enjoyable  furloughs  in 
the  homeland,  during  our  missionary  life. 
Each  visit  to  America  has  tended  to  re- 
fresh and  invigorate  us  most  admirably 
for  a  new  period  of  service  and  we  have 
added  many  to  the  circle  of  friends  who 
encourage  us  in  our  work  and  keep  vigor- 
ous  the  connecting   link   with   the   workers 

[130] 


OUR  SUPPORTERS 


at  home.  The  periods  of  our  absence  from 
America  have  had  a  curious  coincidence 
with  the  change  in  methods  of  locomotion 
in  America.  When  we  first  came  to  Syria 
in  1888,  the  horse  car  was  still  supreme  in 
American  cities.  Experimental  lines  of 
electric  trolleys  were  being  tried  in  certain 
places,  but  I  had  never  seen  an  electric 
car.  When  we  returned  to  America  in 
1897,  we  found  the  trolley  in  all  the  cities, 
and  I  remember  being  disturbed,  the  first 
Sunday  in  Philadelphia,  by  a  strange  whir- 
ring sound  during  the  morning  service. 
I  could  think  of  no  explanation  except  the 
weird  creaking  of  the  great  water  wheels 
in  Hamath,  but  there  were  no  such  water- 
works in  Philadelphia.  I  soon  became 
familiar  with  the  hum  of  the  trolley. 

During  that  first  furlough,  there  was 
much  written  in  the  magazines  about  auto- 
mobiles, and  people  were  wondering 
whether  the  auto  would  really  be  practi- 
cable, but  I  did  not  see  a  machine.  Our 
first    sight    of    an    auto    was    in    Cairo,    in 

[1311 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

Egypt.  We  reached  America  on  our  second 
furlough  in  1908,  and  the  first  day  on  shore 
gave  us  our  first  ride  in  an  auto,  which  we 
found  rapidly  taking  a  recognized  place  in 
American  everyday  life.  Again  the  maga- 
zines had  much  to  say  about  the  aeroplane, 
but  we  did  not  see  one  while  in  America. 
My  first  sight  of  a  human  flyer  was  at 
Allahabad,  in  India.  It  looks  now  as  if  a 
ride  in  an  aeroplane  might  not  be  a  strange 
experience  in  our  third  furlough. 

The  meeting  of  earnest  Christian  workers 
all  over  the  land,  in  conventions  and  mis- 
sionary meetings,  is  a  real  refreshment 
physically  and  spiritually.  So  long  as  the 
missionary's  health  is  good,  he  finds  it  a 
joy  to  speak  for  the  cause  and  mingle  with 
the  workers  at  home.  I  traveled  a  good 
many  miles  to  meet  appointments  on  each 
furlough.  I  spoke  on  many  platforms,  and 
the  cordial  welcome  extended  and  the 
close  attention  paid  to  the  message  were 
an  ample  reward  for  whatever  there  was  of 
fatigue  in  the  service.     Many  times  I  felt 

[132] 


OUR  SUPPORTERS 


humiliated  by  what  seemed  to  me  the 
extreme  and  unmerited  deference  paid  to 
us,  simply  because  we  were  foreign  mis- 
sionaries. So  far  as  Syria  is  concerned, 
the  missionary  of  to-day  asks  for  no  sym- 
pathy on  the  score  of  physical  privations. 
We  are  in  close  touch  with  European  and 
American  civilization.  We  can  obtain 
whatever  is  necessary  for  physical  well- 
being  and  comfort.  The  climate  is  not 
excessively  enervating  and  we  can  have 
good  homes.  There  are  many  things  that 
are  trying  in  the  life  of  a  missionary,  but 
no  more  so  than  in  the  lives  of  many 
workers  in  the  homeland. 

The  isolation  from  friends  and  relatives 
is  often  one  of  the  most  trying  features  of 
missionary  life.  When  sickness  or  death 
enter  the  family  circle  far  away,  it  is 
not  easy  to  think  of  the  miles  of  restless 
ocean  that  lie  between  us  and  them.  The 
whole  unchristian,  unsympathetic  atmos- 
phere makes  life  hard  at  times,  but  the 
compensations  are  so   many  that   it   makes 


[133] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

one  ashamed  to  be  held  up  as  a  model  of 
self-sacrifice.  The  missionary  feels,  as  the 
earnest  worker  at  home  feels,  and  as  Paul 
felt  years  ago,  when  he  said,  "The  love 
of  Christ  constraineth  us." 

The  first  home-going  was  peculiarly 
happy,  for  in  neither  of  the  two  family 
circles  had  there  been  any  break.  The 
only  changes  had  come  by  marriage  and 
birth.  The  circles  were  expanding,  and 
there  was  no  place  vacated  during  the 
period  of  our  absence.  The  second  going 
was  very  different  in  this  respect.  Many 
who  had  been  vigorous  were  feeble.  Many 
who  had  bidden  us  a  bright  farewell  were 
not  present  to  welcome  us  on  our  return. 
Children  had  become  men  and  women. 
There  were  wrinkles  on  the  faces  and  gray 
hair  on  the  heads  of  those  whom  we  had 
expected  to  find  still  as  young  as  we  were. 
But,  somehow,  it  began  to  dawn  on  us 
that  we  ourselves  were  no  longer  counted 
among  the  young  folks  in  the  church. 

[  184  ] 


OUR  SUPPORTERS 


The  general  recollection  of  those  two 
furloughs  is  one  of  bright  smiles  and  cheery 
welcomes,  helpful  handclasps  and  a  joyous 
fellowship. 


[135] 


Chapter  XIII 
PERSONAL   FRIENDS 

IT  was  one  of  the  most  delightful  phases 
of  our  experience  in  charge  of  the 
boys'  school  to  find  how  closely  the  ties 
of  love  to  the  boys  bound  them  to  our 
hearts,  and  to  realize  that  with  many 
of  them  it  was  no  mere  oriental  compli- 
ment when  they  called  us  their  father  and 
mother.  There  are  many  of  those  lads, 
now  growing  to  manhood,  in  whose  suc- 
cesses we  take  a  parental  pride,  and  for 
whose  growth  in  all  that  is  good  and  true 
we  pray,  with  parental  earnestness.  Among 
the  many  preachers  and  teachers  in  all  the 
churches  and  schools,  we  count  many  as 
most  truly  our  brethren  and  fellow  workers 
for  the  Master.  There  are  very  many 
Syrians  in  all  parts  of  America,  as  well  as 
in  this  land,  of  whom  we  think  in  terms  of 

[136] 


PERSONAL  FRIENDS 


truest  brotherhood.  It  is  with  no  sense 
of  disparagement  to  the  multitude  that  I 
have  selected  three  of  the  elders  in  our 
churches  for  special  mention.  It  has 
seemed  to  me,  as  I  look  back  over  their 
lives,  that  there  are  some  specially  sug- 
gestive elements  in  the  way  the  Lord  has 
led  them  and  blessed  them,  which  are 
worthy  of  special  note.  At  the  same  time 
these  experiences  have  brought  all  three  into 
specially  close  relations  with  myself  per- 
sonally. I  shall  mention  them  in  the  order 
of  the  commencement  of  my  acquaintance 
with   them. 

In  1885,  before  I  entered  the  mission,  I 
was  for  a  few  months  in  Syria,  merely  as  a 
visitor.  It  happened  that  the  College  in 
Beirut  was  short-handed  that  year,  and  in 
need  of  an  additional  teacher.  Dr.  Bliss 
asked  me  to  help  them  out  and  so  I  be- 
came for  two  months  a  member  of  the 
teaching  force  in  the  preparatory  depart- 
ment. During  this  time  I  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  a  lad  in  the  senior  class  of 

[137] 


SILVER   CHIMES   IN   SYRIA 

that  department,  named  Towfik  Sallum. 
He  was  a  quiet,  studious  lad,  who  made  no 
trouble  and  was  always  busy  with  his 
books  or  seeking  to  increase  his  English 
vocabulary.  In  the  brief  time  of  my  re- 
maining in  the  college,  my  acquaintance 
was  slight  and  the  memory  of  this  boy 
would  have  passed  from  my  mind,  had 
there  been  no  subsequent  association. 
When  I  became  a  member  of  the  Tripoli 
Station  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
various  workers  in  the  field,  I  found  that 
this  lad  was  the  brother  of  the  preacher 
in  Hamath.  Their  father  had  been  the 
first  preacher  in  that  church,  and  upon 
his  death  the  eldest  son  had  succeeded  to 
his  father's  position  in  the  church,  as  well 
as  to  the  parental  responsibility  for  the 
care  and  training  of  his  younger  brothers. 
Towfik  spent  some  years  in  the  service  of 
the  mission  as  teacher,  in  intervals  of  his 
college  course.  In  1892  he  was  graduated 
with  honor,  and  in  189G  took  his  degree 
in   medicine   also.      He  settled   at  once  in 

I  138  ] 


PERSONAL  FRIENDS 


Hamath,  where  he  was  well  known  per- 
sonally, and  where  his  family  associations 
made  a  valuable  professional  asset.  The 
conditions  of  life  in  ancient  Hamath  are 
exceedingly  primitive  and  only  a  small 
portion  of  the  population  have  any  in- 
telligent appreciation  of  the  value  of  mod- 
ern medicine.  Perseverance  and  tact  won 
their  way  and  a  valuable  practice  was 
built  up.  AYith  increasing  years  and  wid- 
ening acquaintance,  the  doctor  became 
generally  known,  universally  trusted,  and 
highly  respected  in  government  circles  as 
well  as  among  the  people.  In  case  the 
governor  wished  a  reliable  report  on  any 
case  of  attack  or  murder,  he  was  sure  to 
send  Dr.  Sallum  to  investigate.  He  was  to 
be  trusted  to  tell  the  truth. 

When  the  new  consitution  was  promul- 
gated in  1908,  it  was  provided  that  all 
religious  sects  were  to  be  entitled  to  repre- 
sentation in  the  local  administrative  courts 
in  rotation,  irrespective  of  the  size  of  those 
bodies.     Formerly   only   the  largest   of   the 

[139] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

Christian  sects  had  been  allowed  represen- 
tation. This  provision  gave  the  Protes- 
tants a  right  to  civil  equality  and  they  put 
forward  Dr.  Sallum  as  their  representative. 
He  was  accepted,  and  served  most  credit- 
ably for  the  term  of  two  years.  It  was 
then  the  turn  of  the  Catholic  sect  to  have 
a  representative,  and  the  heads  of  the  vari- 
ous bodies  were  summoned  by  the  governor 
to  arrange  for  the  choice  of  the  new  mem- 
ber. The  governor  explained  the  situation 
and  said  that  as  the  Protestants  had  held 
the  office  for  two  years,  it  was  now  the 
right  of  the  Catholics  to  choose  a  repre- 
sentative to  succeed  the  Protestant  mem- 
ber. Then,  turning  to  the  Catholic  priest, 
he  said,  "If  you  have  a  candidate  who  is 
more  capable  than  Dr.  Sallum  or  who  is 
his  equal,  we  shall  be  glad  to  welcome  him, 
but  if  not,  I  should  advise  you  to  ask  him 
to  continue  in  office,  acting  now  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  Catholics."  The  priest 
replied  most  cordially  that  his  sect  would 

be    delighted    to    be    represented    by    Dr. 

[  110  ] 


PERSONAL   FRIENDS 


Sallum,  if  he  would  consent.  In  this  way 
the  doctor  has  become  practically  a  per- 
manent member  of  the  governor's  council, 
acting  alternately  for  the  Protestants  and 
the  Catholics.  At  the  same  time  the  proud 
member  of  the  large  Greek  Orthodox  sect 
has  to  give  place  every  two  years  to  the 
member  chosen  by  the  Jacobite  church. 

In  1892  I  was  in  Horns  for  the  admin- 
istration of  the  sacraments.  Among  those 
who  came  in  on  Saturday  evening  was  Mr. 
Rafool  Nasser,  a  young  man  who  had  not 
been  long  identified  with  the  Protestant 
church.  He  told  me  that  he  wished  to 
have  his  little  girl  baptized  the  next  day. 
He  had  been  married  for  several  years  and 
this  was  the  first  child,  so  the  occasion 
was  one  of  more  than  usual  joy.  The  next 
morning,  before  the  service  began,  I  saw 
Mr.  Nasser  come  in  and  take  a  seat  quite 
at  the  back  of  the  church,  contrary  to  his 
usual  custom.  He  seemed  depressed  and 
I     wondered     what    had    occurred.     When 

the   time   came  for   baptisms   he   made   no 

[Hi] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

move  to  come  forward  and  so  I  proceeded 
with  the  children  who  were  presented.  At 
the  close  of  the  service  I  inquired  into  the 
matter,  and  learned  that  Mr.  Nasser  had 
informed  his  wife  the  evening  before  that 
the  little  girl  was  to  be  baptized  the  next 
day.  His  wife  then  informed  him  that  she 
had  already  had  the  child  baptized  se- 
cretly by  the  priest.  This  explained  the 
depression  I  had  noticed  in  the  father's 
face.  Two  years  later  the  parents  stood 
together  while  I  baptized  the  second  child, 
and  all  the  others  have  been  presented 
without  question  for  the  rite  of  baptism. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  my  acquaint- 
ance with  Mr.  Nasser,  with  whom  I  have 
been  somewhat  intimate  in  recent  years. 

He  was  a  man  of  prominent  family  in 
Horns  and  has  been  highly  prospered  in 
business,  having  become  one  of  the  most 
substantial  men  of  the  city.  Most  of  the 
successful  men  of  Horns  owe  their  pros- 
perity to  business  conducted  in  Egypt. 
They  spend  the  winters  in  Egypt,  advanc- 

[  142  1 


PERSONAL  FRIENDS 


ing  money  to  the  peasants  on  their  cotton 
crops  and  also  furnishing  them  certain 
classes  of  imported  goods  on  credit.  It 
has  been  a  profitable  business,  even  to 
those  who  have  not  been  led  away  by  the 
temptation  of  avarice  to  impose  on  the 
simplicity  of  the  Egyptian  peasant.  On 
one  occasion  I  was  talking  to  Mr.  Nasser 
about  the  high  standards  of  morality  ob- 
ligatory on  the  true  Christian  merchant. 
He  then  told  me  the  following  incident  in 
the  simplest  manner.  As  a  young  man  he 
started  with  his  cousin  on  a  very  small 
capital.  They  invested  their  cash  capital 
in  stock  for  their  little  store,  purchasing 
so  far  as  they  could  on  credit.  Mr.  Nasser 
returned  to  Horns,  leaving  his  cousin  in 
charge  of  the  business  in  Egypt.  Scarcely 
had  he  reached  home  when  word  came  of 
the  complete  destruction  of  their  store  and 
all  its  contents  by  fire.  It  was  a  heavy 
blow  for  the  young  men,  and  the  first 
impulse  was  to  go  through  bankruptcy, 
settle  up   as   well   as   they   could   and  give 

[143] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

up  the  enterprise.  Friends  and  creditors 
came  to  their  help  and  volunteered  to  scale 
down  their  claims  and  furnish  new  capital 
for  the  two  men  to  start  again.  They  were 
prospered  from  the  beginning.  After  some 
years  Mr.  Rafool  Nasser  decided  that  he 
was  unwilling  to  have  the  friends  who  were 
so  kind  to  him  suffer  from  the  old  loss. 
He  wrote  to  his  cousin,  saying  that  he  had 
no  wish  to  control  his  partner's  action, 
but  asking  him  to  pay  off  his  share  of  those 
old  losses  carried  by  their  friends  after 
the  fire,  and  charge  the  amount  against 
his  personal  account.  The  cousin  wrote 
back,  "Whatever  you  do,  I  shall  do  also." 
In  the  light  of  this  incident,  will  anyone 
say  that  commercial  honor  is  confined  to 
the  West? 

There  was  a  long  period  of  hesitation, 
after  Mr.  Nasser  was  convinced  intellectu- 
ally of  the  truth  of  the  evangelical  faith, 
before  he  joined  the  Church.  He  has 
explained  this  to  me  in  the  following  way: 
He  knew  that  if  he  gave  in  his  adherence 

[144] 


PERSONAL  FRIENDS 


to  the  Protestant  doctrine,  his  conscience 
would  require  him  to  give  far  more  of  his 
possessions  than  he  had  been  accustomed 
to  do  in  the  Greek  church.  It  took  a  long 
time  to  bring  his  will  to  yield.  In  fact, 
his  head  was  reached  before  his  purse  was 
opened.  .  He  gave  up  the  conflict  at  last 
and  then  said,  in  closing  the  account  of 
his  experience,  "I've  gotten  way  beyond 
that  now,  for  I  have  learned  the  joy  of 
giving."  He  is  not  a  millionaire,  but  the 
Lord  has  blessed  him  with  considerable 
property,  and  he  recognizes  his  position 
as  that  of  steward.  He  has  been  the  lead- 
ing spirit  in  the  enterprises  of  the  Horns 
church,  spoken  of  in  another  place. 

About  the  end  of  the  year  1895,  I  was 
sitting  one  evening  in  my  study  when  the 
bell  rang,  and  one  of  my  neighbors,  Mr. 
Yusuf  Faris,  entered.  He  laid  on  my  desk 
a  bundle  of  Turkish  silver  dollars,  amount- 
ing to  some  thirty  dollars  American  money. 
He  said  he  had  been  looking  over  his  ac- 
counts for  the  year  and  found  this  balance 

[145] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

in  his  tithe  account,  and  so  he  wished  me 
to  use  it  for  him  in  a  way  that  he  indi- 
cated, in  the  furtherance  of  the  Lord's 
business.  This  was  a  little  matter,  but  it 
was  a  true  index  to  the  man.  A  few  years 
previous  to  this  he  had  moved  to  the  city 
from  a  neighboring  village.  Among  his 
motives  for  this  move  was  to  avoid  being 
forced  into  a  political  position  he  felt  to 
be  inconsistent  with  his  new  position  as  a 
Protestant  Christian.  He  decided  to  open 
a  dry-goods  store  in  the  city,  but  was  un- 
willing to  conduct  business  in  the  ordinary 
way  of  the  country.  He  rented  a  very 
small  shop  and  brought  his  stock  of  goods 
from  Beirut.  He  decided  upon  a  fair 
profit,  and  set  his  price  on  the  goods. 
People  were  not  accustomed  to  this  method 
and  so  were  slow  to  buy  from  the  new  shop. 
When  they  found  him  unvarying  in  his 
prices,  they  went  away  to  buy  elsewhere, 
getting,  perhaps,  an  inferior  article  at  a 
slightly    lower    price.     Mr.    Faris    had    his 

full  share  of  determination  and  was  not  to 

1 1  w  1 


PERSONAL   FRIENDS 


be  turned  back  from  the  course  upon  which 
he  had  decided.  He  had  an  unfailingly 
pleasant  manner  with  everyone,  and  showed 
no  resentment  at  those  who  bought  else- 
where. For  months  the  sales  in  this  little 
shop  were  not  enough  to  pay  the  rent,  but 
there  was  no  change  of  policy.  Gradually 
people  began  to  compare  more  carefully 
and  discovered  that  in  no  case  were  they 
able  to  buy  the  same  quality  of  goods  else- 
where for  less  than  Mr.  Faris'  first  price. 
They  began  to  realize  that  it  was  a  distinct 
saving  of  time  and  temper  to  avoid  the 
long  haggling  over  prices  to  which  they 
had  been  accustomed.  By  degrees  they 
began  to  buy  from  Mr.  Faris,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  some  of  the  country  shop- 
keepers would  come  to  him  with  a  list  of 
goods  and  ask  to  have  them  put  up  with- 
out even  asking  the  prices.  Business  grew, 
a  larger  shop  was  necessary,  two  shops, 
three  shops,  until  at  present  his  goods  fill 
three   large   storerooms,    while   a   fourth    is 

necessary    for    his    office    and    bookkeeping. 

[147] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN   SYRIA 

Two  months  seldom  pass,  and  often  less 
than  a  month,  between  trips  to  Beirut  for 
fresh  goods,  and  he  and  his  three  grown 
sons  are  kept  busy  handling  the  under- 
taking. 

In  every  good  enterprise,  in  Tripoli,  or 
in  presbytery,  Mr.  Yusuf  Faris  is  a  leader, 
with  clear  advice  and  generous  subscrip- 
tions. When  the  home  mission  work  of 
the  presbytery  was  organized,  he  was  one 
of  the  leaders,  and  has  continued  to  be  the 
main  support  of  the  work.  When  the 
plans  for  the  Tripoli  Boys'  School  were 
under  consideration  and  there  was  some 
danger  that  lack  of  money  and  other 
considerations  might  necessitate  the  re- 
moval of  the  school  from  Tripoli,  Mr. 
Faris  and  his  sons  came  forward  with  a 
generous  offer  of  financial  help,  during  a 
period  of  years  aggregating  nearly  eighteen 
hundred  dolrars.  This  made  him  the  third 
largest  individual  donor  and  we  were  glad 
to  place  his  picture  among  those  on  the 
wall  of  the  school  reception  room.     In  all 

[148] 


PERSONAL   FRIKXDS 


the  intercourse  of  these  years,  while  watch- 
ing the  growth  and  development  of  char- 
acter in  this  man,  there  has  grown  in  my 
own  heart  a  strength  of  personal  attach- 
ment such  as  I  have  seldom  felt  for  any 
other  in  America  or  in  Syria. 


[140) 


Chapter  XIV 

TRIPOLI  BOYS'  SCHOOL 

THE  one  enterprise  which  stands  out 
most  conspicuously  in  our  life  in 
Syria  and  which  has  absorbed  more  of  our 
thought  and  activity  than  any  other,  is 
the  boarding  school  for  boys  in  Tripoli. 
In  the  earlier  years  of  our  work  in  Tripoli 
field,  I  found  an  important  item  to  be  the 
selection  of  promising  candidates  from 
the  pupils  in  the  village  schools  for  further 
education  in  one  of  the  mission  boarding 
schools.  We  were  anxious  to  encourage 
the  higher  education  of  boys,  for  in  this 
respect  as  in  many  others,  north  Syria  is 
more  backward  than  other  parts  of  the 
country.  Means  of  communication  were 
poor  and  it  was  not  an  easy  thing  for 
people  to  send  their  children  to  a  distance 
of    four    or    five    days'   travel.      We    used 

[150] 


TRIPOLI    BOYS'  SCHOOL 


First  Home 


TRIPOLI    ltm>    SCHOOL 


Second  Honu 


TRIPOLI   BOYS*  SCHOOL 


every  means  at  our  disposal  to  persuade 
reluctant  parents,  offering  free  tuition  and 
sometimes  traveling  expenses  and  help  with 
clothing.  By  all  these  means  we  could 
gather,  from  the  whole  territory,  a  dozen, 
or  fifteen,  or,  at  most,  twenty  boys,  whose 
parents  were  willing  to  send  them  to  school. 

But  emigration  to  America  gradually 
opened  the  eyes  of  the  people  to  the  com- 
mercial advantages  of  education.  Igno- 
rant parents  who  had  gone  abroad  began 
to  send  back  money,  with  urgent  instruc- 
tions to  put  their  boys  in  the  American 
schools.  We  found  the  number  of  appli- 
cants increasing  and  a  new  willingness  to 
pay,  in  part  at  least,  for  the  education. 
Instead  of  a  dozen,  we  had  sixty  or  more 
to  provide  for  and  the  tide  was  rising. 
Conditions  were  the  same  elsewhere  and 
it  was  not  easy  for  the  other  schools  to 
receive  this  larger  number  from  our  dis- 
trict. Why,  then,  should  our  boys  go  so 
far  from  home? 

The  eagerness  of  some  of  these  lads  to 

[151] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

gain  an  education  went  to  our  hearts,  and 
the  hardest  thing  we  had  to  do  was  to 
refuse  an  earnest  pleader  for  whom  we  had 
no  place  left.  One  day  in  Horns  a  young 
man  came  to  me,  pleading  for  a  place  in 
Sidon.  He  was  making  his  own  living  as 
an  artisan,  and  had  only  a  simple  educa- 
tion. I  wished  to  test  his  pluck  and 
pointed  out  all  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
one  in  his  circumstances.  He  had  thought 
it  all  out  and  said  he  could  work  at  his 
trade  in  the  summer  vacations  and  earn 
enough  for  his  clothing.  But  it  was  a 
five  days'  journey  to  Sidon,  and  the  cost 
of  the  journey  must  be  provided  for  in 
some  way.  There  was  not  a  moment's 
hesitation  as  he  said,  "I'll  walk."  And 
he  did  walk,  showing  a  manly  contempt 
for  obstacles  in  the  way  of  gaining  an 
education. 

This  growing  demand  for  an  education 
such  as  our  American  schools  give,  with 
the  increasing  ability  of  many  to  pay  the 
cost,  seemed  a  clear  call  for  action.     Our 

[152] 


TRIPOLI  BOYS'  SCHOOL 


mission  had  been  criticized  for  putting  too 
much  energy  and  money  into  education,  so 
it  seemed  a  chance  at  the  same  time  to 
take  a  step  in  advance  in  the  line  of  self- 
support.  I  did  not  wish  to  go  before  the 
mission  with  my  proposition  until  I  had 
it  well  supported.  For  this  reason  I  wrote 
to  Mr.  George  D.  Dayton  who  has  sup- 
ported us  through  all  our  missionary  life, 
and  laid  the  matter  before  him,  making 
two  distinct  requests.  If  such  a  school 
were  to  be  a  success,  it  must  have  its  own 
permanent  premises,  especially  adapted  to 
its  use,  and  I  asked  whether  he  would  help 
us  to  secure  this  for  the  school.  It  did 
not  seem  wise  to  wait  however  for  the 
accomplishment  of  this  purpose  to  open 
the  school.  I  was  confident,  myself,  that 
the  school  could  be  made  self-supporting 
if  the  premises  were  provided,  but  I  wished 
a  guarantee  to  lay  before  the  mission,  and 
so  asked  Mr.  Dayton  to  underwrite  the 
enterprise  to  the  extent  of  three  hundred 

dollars  a  year,  in  case  of  a  deficit.     He  re- 

[  15:5  ] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

sponded  promptly,  acceding  to  both  re- 
quests. I  was  ready  then  to  go  before  the 
mission.  Our  proposition  called  for  two 
things  from  the  Board,  the  addition  of  a 
missionary  to  our  Tripoli  station  and  pro- 
vision of  rent  for  premises  in  which  to 
open  the  school  temporarily.  Both  re- 
quests were  granted  and  we  were  authorized 
to  go  ahead,  even  before  receiving  our 
additional    missionary. 

Ten  years  after  opening  the  school,  owing 
to  removals  and  delay  for  language  study, 
the  whole  work  of  the  station,  with  the 
addition  of  the  school,  still  rests  on  the 
shoulders  of  two  men,  who  live  in  hope 
of  having  their  new  associate,  promised 
ten  years  ago.  It  has  been  like  the  pursuit 
of  a  mirage  or  the  fatuous  end  of  the  rain- 
bow. More  than  once  we  have  given  a 
sigh  of  satisfaction  and  said,  "Well,  next 
year,  or  at  latest,  the  year  after,  we  shall 
be  able  to  settle  down  to  normal  lines  and 
really  do  our  work  right."  An  emergency 
has  always  arisen  somewhere,  our  pleasant 

[154] 


TRIPOLI   BOYS'  SCHOOL 


dreams  have  faded  away,  and  we  have 
settled  down  again  to  try  to  carry  the  extra 
load;  but  each  time  this  is  done,  the  weight 
seems  to  press  more  heavily  and  a  sense  of 
discouragement  steals  into  the  tired  heart. 
We  were  ready  to  begin  school  in  1903 
and  had  laid  in  some  supplies  for  the 
coming  year,  when  cholera  appeared  in  the 
land,  interfering  with  all  lines  of  travel 
and  communication.  It  was  decided  to 
postpone  the  opening  until  the  next  year 
and  special  plans  for  temporary  work  were 
made  for  the  various  teachers.  In  Oc- 
tober 1904  the  Tripoli  Boys'  School  opened 
its  doors,  and  there  was  every  indication 
of  hearty  support.  We  had  planned  to 
begin  on  a  very  small  scale  with  only 
twenty  boarders.  We  had  rented  a  house 
in  which  the  boys  were  to  sleep  and  study, 
the  kitchen  and  dining  room  being  in  the 
basement.  Before  the  day  of  opening  we 
had  thirty-two  insistent  applicants  and 
wanted  very  much  to  receive  them  all. 
Rooms   were   rented    across   the  street  for 

[155] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

study  and  recitation  purposes,  releasing 
for  a  dormitory  the  large  room  before  as- 
signed to  study.  This,  with  extra  crowd- 
ing of  the  beds,  made  room,  and  the 
whole  number  were  admitted.  The  beds 
were  very  crude,  being  merely  boards 
laid  across  rude  iron  supports.  Everything 
was    as    simple    as    possible. 

We  were  all  inexperienced  in  school 
administration  and  had  about  as  much  to 
learn  as  did  the  boys,  but  that  first  year 
was  a  year  of  real  delight.  The  school 
was  small  and  the  family  feeling  was  en- 
couraged in  every  way.  Every  Sunday 
evening  the  boys  came  to  our  home  for  a 
social  sing,  and  we  learned  that  the  neigh- 
bors looked  forward  to  the  enjoyment  of 
the  volume  of  boyish  voices  that  rang  out 
on  the  evening  air.  In  the  middle  of  the 
year  it  was  possible  to  transfer  the  school 
to  much  more  commodious  quarters,  where 
all  school  and  household  functions  could 
be  under  one  roof.  The  most  satisfactory 
feature,  perhaps,  was  the  financial  outcome. 

[156] 


TRIPOLI   BOYS'  SCHOOL 


When  the  books  were  closed,  at  the  end  of 
the  year,  there  was  no  deficit  to  be  pro- 
vided for,  and  so  our  highest  anticipations 
seemed  to  be  justified.  This  has  con- 
tinued to  be  the  normal  record  of  the 
school,  the  current  income  providing  for 
the  current  expense,  excepting  the  item  of 
rent.  The  second  year  we  were  able  to 
start  in  with  American  desks,  and  iron  beds 
in  the  dormitories,  and  had  an  enrollment 
of  sixty  pupils. 

A  detailed  history  of  the  school  would 
make  this  chapter  too  long,  but  its  growth 
and  success  have  meant  a  great  deal  to  us 
in  our  missionary  life.  In  1909,  when  we 
returned  from  our  second  furlough,  we  had 
a  sufficient  building  fund  to  justify  definite 
plans  for  the  permanent  home  of  the 
school.  It  was  not  easy  to  decide  on  the 
best  location.  Every  place  suggested  had 
advantages  and  disadvantages.  We  could 
not  visit  any  locality  in  the  most  casual 
way  without  very  largely  increasing  the 
value  of  land  in  the  vicinity.     We  looked 


[157] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

at  land  near  the  sea,  in  the  gardens,  on 
each  side  of  the  city,  but  gradually  all 
minds  turned  to  an  olive  orchard  on  the 
brow  of  the  hill  just  north  of  the  city. 
It  might  not  be  possible  to  purchase  it, 
but  we  all  agreed  that  it  was  the  place  we 
wanted,  if  it  could  be  obtained.  Inquiry 
revealed  the  fact  that  this  piece  of  property 
belonged  to  a  family  of  brothers  and  sisters 
who  held  it  as  joint  heritage  from  their 
father.  One  of  the  brothers  got  the  whole 
into  his  possession,  excepting  the  share  of 
one  sister,  whose  claim  was  something  less 
than  one-twelfth.  Her  husband  was  an 
avaricious  fellow  who  thought  he  could  hold 
us  up  for  whatever  he  might  demand. 
We  purchased  the  remainder  of  the  prop- 
erty, but  could  do  nothing  toward  build- 
ing until  our  partner's  share  should  be  set 
off  and  a  legal  division  made.  We  pro- 
posed every  possible  division  but  nothing 
was  acceptable.  We  tried  the  courts  and 
found    it    almost    as    hopeless    as    Dickens' 

picture  of  chancery.     Finally   an   amicable 

[  las  ] 


TRIPOLI   BOYS'  SCHOOL 


adjudication  and  division  out  of  court  was 
arranged  by  common  friends.  We  went  to 
the  hill  with  professional  measurers  and 
proceeded  to  lay  off  our  partner's  portion. 
When  he  was  convinced  that  we  would 
prefer  to  give  him  at  the  north  end,  he 
promptly  announced  that  he  would  take 
the  south  part,  which  was  after  all  much 
to  our  advantage.  Then  the  boundary 
was  laid  out  very  exactly,  giving  him  his 
full  share.  After  the  peg  had  been  care- 
fully set,  his  son  petulantly  moved  it  a 
foot  or  more  farther  on  our  side,  evidently 
intending  to  irritate  us  into  a  refusal  of 
the  division.  We  consented,  however,  the 
division  wall  was  erected,  the  legal  papers 
drawn  up  and  our  property  was  secured. 
The  next  step  was  to  obtain  a  building 
permit  from  the  government.  Every  offi- 
cial is  suspicious  of  every  other,  and  each 
is  watching  for  a  chance  to  enter  a  com- 
plaint against  the  other.  From  one  office 
we  went  to  another,  with  favorable  reports 
from    the   city    engineer,    but    nothing    was 

[159] 


SILVER   CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

accomplished.  There  seemed  to  be  no 
valid  objection  anywhere,  and  we  were 
assured  that  the  permit  would  be  sent  back 
as  soon  as  our  petition  reached  Constan- 
tinople. After  long  waiting,  instead  of  the 
permit  there  came  back  another  series  of 
inquiries  on  points  already  fully  explained. 
Preliminary  work  on  cisterns,  foundations 
and  preparation  of  stone  was  in  full  prog- 
ress, but  the  winter  passed  and  no  permit 
was  received.  At  last  a  new  governor  came 
to  Tripoli  who  for  some  reason  took  a 
personal  interest  in  bringing  the  matter 
to  a  conclusion.  He  sent  vigorous  letters 
and  telegrams  to  Constantinople  and  in 
due  time  the  permit  was  issued,  and  at 
the  end  of  May  1912,  work  was  begun  on 
the  building  proper.  Every  means  was 
used  to  push  work  forward  as  fast  as  pos- 
sible, through  the  summer  and  fall,  so  as 
to  have  the  roof  on  before  the  rains  came. 
The  walls  were  completed,  the  roof  timbers 
in  place,  but  where  were  the  tiles?  These 
had    been    ordered    long    in    advance,    and 

1160] 


TRIPOLI   BOYS'  SCHOOL 


were  known  to  be  on  the  way.  Just  at  this 
unfortunate  moment  war  between  Turkey 
and  Greece  was  declared  and  it  appeared 
that  our  tiles  were  coming  in  a  Greek 
steamer,  which  could  not  now  approach  a 
Turkish  port.  The  fall  rains  came  down 
on  our  roofless  building  and  it  was  not  until 
January  that  the  tiles  were  received. 
When  they  arrived,  there  was  great  re- 
joicing. The  workmen  all  left  their  tools 
to  help  unload  the  wagons.  The  school- 
boys went  up  on  the  hill  and,  forming 
lines  from  the  ground  to  the  roof  of  the 
building,  passed  up  the  tiles  from  hand  to 
hand  with  shouts  and  songs  of  joy.  No 
damage  had  been  done  the  building,  since 
the  rains  tended  to  set  the  stone  walls  and 
cement  flooring  more  perfectly,  but  the 
plastering  and  carpenter  work  for  the 
interior  were  delayed,  and  the  precious 
rain  water  for  the  cisterns  was  lost. 

After   the   roof   was   finished,   work   pro- 
gressed rapidly  and  the  utility  and  beauty 

of  the  building  developed  every  day  more 

[Ml] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

and  more  clearly.  When  Easter  vacation 
came  everything  was  ready,  and  in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  boys,  the  school  furniture  was 
moved  up  to  the  new  building  so  that  all 
was  in  good  order  when  vacation  was  over. 
The  new  term  opened  in  the  new  home. 

On  May  21,  1913,  the  day  was  given 
over  to  the  dedication  of  the  new  building, 
and  a  happier  day  than  that  has  not  come 
in  the  history  of  the  school.  In  the  fore- 
noon, there  were  races  and  athletic  sports, 
with  a  football  game  on  the  playground 
behind  the  building.  In  the  afternoon, 
hosts  of  friends  and  neighbors  inspected 
the  building  and  grounds,  and  at  four 
o'clock  the  Assembly  Hall  was  crowded 
with  the  pupils  and  their  friends.  On  the 
platform  sat  the  governor  and  president  of 
the  municipality,  with  the  missionaries 
and  teachers.  The  boys  sang  heartily 
their  songs  of  welcome  and  a  special  dedi- 
cation hymn  written  for  the  occasion  from 
the  text,  "Except  Jehovah  build  the  house, 
they  labor  in  vain   that  build   it."     Their 

[162] 


TRIPOLI   BOYS'  SCHOOL 


voices  rang  out  especially  as  their  hand- 
kerchiefs waved  in  their  own  school  song 
in   honor   of   T.  B.  S. 

This  building  is  rich  in  significance,  for 
it  is  a  memorial  throughout.  The  main 
fund  was  raised  in  honor  of  my  father, 
and  so  the  building  is  to  be  known  as  the 
Henry  A.  Nelson  Memorial.  Smaller  sums 
were  given  as  special  memorials  to  relatives 
of  the  givers,  and  the  bell  in  the  tower  was 
given  by  parents  of  a  young  man,  their 
only  son,  who  was  called  to  the  heavenly 
home  just  before  his  twenty-first  birthday. 
Those  parents  have  the  comfort  of  feeling 
that  their  son's  voice  is  still  calling  in  the 
tones  of  that  bell  to  the  lads  of  Syria,  and 
so   still   serving   the   Master. 

Our  rejoicing  in  the  new  building  was 
great,  but  not  complete.  With  all  our 
efforts  it  was  not  possible  to  finish  the  top 
story  of  the  building,  and  the  friends  of 
the  school  will  have  plenty  of  opportunity  to 
help  us  improve  and  increase  our  facilities 
in  the  service  of  the  youth  of  north  Syria. 

[163] 


Chapter  XV 
MOVING 

IN  1910  the  Syria  mission  decided  upon 
an  advance.  The  constitution  had 
been  declared  in  Turkey  and  everyone 
hoped  that  a  new  era  had  really  begun  for 
the  people  of  the  empire.  Whatever  might 
be  the  political  results,  there  were  clear 
signs  of  industrial  improvement.  The  Ger- 
man railroad  was  being  pushed  toward 
Bagdad.  Work  was  progressing  rapidly 
on  the  line  from  Tripoli  to  Homs.  There 
could  be  but  little  doubt  that  the  impor- 
tance of  Homs  as  a  commercial  center 
would  be  greatly  enhanced  in  the  near 
future.  The  strong  evangelical  community 
had  been  urgent  for  years  that  a  missionary 
family  live  in  Homs.  This  was  finally 
decided  upon  and  the  choice  of  the  mission 
fell  on  us.     There  are  very  few  houses  for 

[164] 


1IOMS 


HEATHEN  TEMPLE  AND   MOUNT  HERMON 


MOVING 


rent  in  Horns,  and  hence  it  seemed  neces- 
sary to  plan  for  a  missionary  residence  as 
soon  as  possible.  An  appropriation  was 
made  from  the  Kennedy  bequest  for  this 
purpose,  and  a  piece  of  land  was  acquired 
from  the  management  of  the  Syrian  Evan- 
gelical  Boarding   School. 

Moving  in  Syria  is  a  different  proposition 
from  what  it  is  in  America.  There  are  no 
professional  packers.  The  missionary  must 
do  his  own  packing,  if  he  would  avoid  ex- 
cessive breakage.  He  must  keep  an  eye 
on  the  porters  as  they  put  his  goods  in  the 
wagons.  He  must  oversee  the  freight  men 
as  they  stow  away  the  goods  in  the  cars. 
At  the  Horns  end  of  the  line  every  piece 
had  to  be  carried  to  its  destination  on  the 
back  of  a  donkey  or  a  mule.  It  was  no 
easy  matter  to  balance  some  of  the  large 
boxes  on  the  insecure  saddles,  but  it  was 
all  accomplished  with  time  and  patience* 
with  very  little  injury. 

We  secured  a  little  house  in  the  city  for 
six  months,  which  could  be  occupied  while 

I  165] 


SILVER  CHIMES   IN  SYRIA 

of  Sayid  Khalid,  said  to  have  cost  sixteen 
thousand  pounds.  It  is  a  beautiful  build- 
ing, but  recently  completed.  Between  us 
and  it  lies  the  old  city,  with  its  seventy 
thousand  plain  people.  At  present  a  vast 
majority  of  the  population  look  to  the 
north  rather  than  to  the  south,  but  it  is 
our  strong  hope  that  the  more  vital 
strength  represented  by  Christian  educa- 
tion and  Christian  homes  will  win  the 
victory  over  this  great  city  and  the  sur- 
rounding country,  so  that  all  shall  be 
won  for  Christ. 


[168] 


:: 


HAMIDIVKII    MOSQUE 


Tripoli 


oil.  CITY   GATE 


Tripoli 


Chapter  XVI 
THE   MUEZZIN   OR  THE   BELL 

AS  the  close  of  this  little  record  comes 
near,  there  appears  before  me  a 
contrast  or  a  conflict.  Shall  Syria  con- 
tinue, as  in  the  past,  dominated  by  the 
minaret  and  all  it  signifies,  or  shall  the 
church  bell  be  heard  more  clearly  and  more 
truly  than  it  has  been  in  the  past? 

Many  years  ago,  in  the  city  of  Horns, 
the  large  and  influential  Orthodox  Greek 
community  wished  to  put  up  a  bell  in  their 
church.  This  was  found  to  be  wholly 
impossible  because  of  the  unyielding  bigotry 
and  hostility  of  the  Moslem  community 
and  the  government.  Finally  the  bishop 
consented  to  hang  up  a  slab  of  hard,  thor- 
oughly seasoned  wood,  and  this  was  struck 
with  a  mallet  at  the  time  of  worship,  to 
call    the    people    together.     After    quite    a 

1169] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

long  interval,  when  the  controversy  was 
largely  forgotten,  this  wooden  slab  was 
quietly  exchanged  for  one  of  steel,  and  a 
clearer  sound  was  obtained.  This  created 
a  little  disturbance,  but  was  quickly  ac- 
cepted as  an  accomplished  fact,  for  it  is  a 
common  saying  in  Turkey:  'Whatever  is 
done  is  permitted.  Whatever  is  requested 
is  forbidden."  After  another  long  interval 
a  large  bell  was  sent  from  Russia  for  this 
Horns  Church  of  the  Forty  Martyrs.  In 
view  of  the  relations  of  Turkey  to  Russia, 
no  open  opposition  could  be  shown,  and 
the  bell  was  brought  with  great  demon- 
strations of  joy  and  put  in  its  place  where 
it  rings  to  call  the  people  to  worship. 
Following  the  lead  of  this  strongest  of  the 
Christian  communities,  all  the  others  have 
brought  bells  since,  and  they  are  in  regular 
use.  But  the  near  city  of  Hamath  waited 
some  years  longer  before  hearing  its  first 
regular  church  bell. 

Many  years  ago  an  old  sheik  in  Tripoli 
was    calling    on    me.     He    was    intelligent 

[170] 


THE   MUEZZIN  OR  THE   BELL 

and  friendly  and  I  felt  that  I  could  speak 
with  him  somewhat  freely.  When  I  said 
to  him  that  the  voice  of  the  muezzin  in 
the  neighboring  mosque  was  not  so  clear 
as  it  might  be,  he  told  me  the  following 
incident  in  his  father's  life:  The  French 
consul  in  Tripoli  lived  near  a  mosque. 
The  muezzin  had  a  musical  voice,  and  the 
consul  enjoyed  hearing  the  call  to  prayer 
in  the  summer  evenings.  For  some  reason 
this  man  was  removed  and  another  put  in 
his  place,  whose  voice  was  harsh  and  un- 
pleasant. A  few  days  later  the  consul 
arrayed  himself  in  official  style,  and  with 
the  attendance  of  his  cavasses  in  full 
regalia,  he  went  to  call  on  the  old  sheik, 
the  father  of  my  informant.  It  was  not 
a  feast  day  nor  time  for  official  calls,  so 
his  coming  in  this  manner  created  some 
astonishment  and  a  little  uneasiness.  After 
the  ordinary  salutations  had  been  ex- 
changed, the  consul  addressed  the  sheik 
in  formal  manner,  to  this  effect:  "I  have 
come  to-day,   officially   to   convey   to  you 

[171] 


SILVER  CHIMES  IN  SYRIA 

my  own  personal  thanks  and  that  of  the 
government  I  represent  for  the  great  favor 
you  have  done  me."  The  sheik  was  even 
more  astonished  at  this  opening,  and  pro- 
tested that  nothing  worthy  of  such  recog- 
nition had  been  done.  "Yes,"  said  the 
consul,  "you  may  not  have  been  aware  of 
the  great  kindness  done,  but  it  is  no  less 
worthy  of  note.  In  the  mosque  near  my 
house  there  was  a  muezzin  who  gave  the 
daily  call  to  prayer  in  a  voice  that  went  to 
the  heart  of  the  hearer,  and  it  would  not 
have  been  strange  if  he  had  won  my  al- 
legiance to  Islam.  Now,  however,  he  has 
been  removed  and  a  man  with  a  harsh, 
repellant  voice  put  in  his  place,  so  there  is 
no  longer  any  danger  that  the  representa- 
tive of  a  Christian  nation  should  deny  his 
faith  and  follow  Islam.  For  this  reason, 
I  convey  to  you  officially  and  personally 
my  most  profound  thanks."  No  sooner 
had  the  caller  taken  his  leave  than  orders 
were  sent  to  have  the  sweet-voiced  muezzin 
restored  to  his  former  position  in  the  vicin- 

I  172] 


THE  MUEZZIN  OR  THE   BELL 

ity  of  the  consulate.     The  keen  consul  had 

gained  what  he  wanted  and  what  a  direct 
request  might  not  have  accomplished.  No 
offense  was  given   and   all   were  pleased. 

After  he  had  told  me  this  story,  I  said, 
"Sheik  Ali,  there  are  two  things  which  I 
grudge  to  you  Mohammedans;  one  is  the 
custom  of  summoning  people  to  divine 
worship  by  the  call  of  the  human  voice 
rather  than  by  a  metallic  bell;  and  the 
other  is  the  exclusive  use  among  your- 
selves of  the  salutation,  'Peace  be  to  you." 
When  one  Moslem  meets  another,  he  sa- 
lutes him,  "Peace  be  to  you,"  and  the  other 
responds,  "And  on  you  be  the  peace  of 
God."  A  Moslem  will  never  intentionally 
give  this  salutation  to  a  Christian.  I 
continued,  "That  salutation  belongs  to 
the  Christians  more  than  to  you,  for  it  was 
the  farewell  message  from  our  Master  to 
his  disciples,  when  he  said,  'Peace  I  leave 
with  you;  my  peace  I  give  unto  you." 

Which   is   it   to   be  in   Syria?     Shall    the 
separation  continue,  and  one  large  part  of 

[173] 


SILVER   CHIMES  IN   SYRIA 

the  population  heed  the  call  to  prayer  by 
the  human  voice  from  the  minaret,  while 
another  part  worship  the  same  God  in 
the  churches  in  answer  to  the  summons  of 
a  bell?  This  unfortunate  state  of  affairs 
will  never  cease  until  the  heart  of  the 
Christian  Church  is  so  full  of  the  love  of 
Christ  and  his  perfect  peace  that  the 
Moslem  population  shall  hear  through  them 
a  louder  cry  than  the  voice  of  the  muezzin, 
calling  them  to  worship  the  one  living  God, 
and  to  know  him  through  the  perfect  life 
of  his  only  Son,  our  Lord.  "Come  unto 
me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest." 


[174] 


i££9UTHERN  REGIONAL  LIRR4BV  t„r 


AA      000  315  44 


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